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Articles for Laphonza

Laphonza Butler, 1st LGBTQ+ Black U.S. senator, exits office as Democrats question identity politics
2 weeks, 3 days ago

Laphonza Butler, 1st LGBTQ+ Black U.S. senator, exits office as Democrats question identity politics

LA Times  

Earlier this year, as Republicans sought to ban books with Black history and LGBTQ+ themes from schools across the country, the nation’s first openly gay Black senator stepped onto the Senate floor and read aloud from some of them. “Because I am a Black woman, because I am a lesbian, because I am myself — a Black woman warrior poet …

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Laphonza Butler reflects on her brief Senate career, the presidential race and her future
1 month, 1 week ago

Laphonza Butler reflects on her brief Senate career, the presidential race and her future

LA Times  

Sen. Laphonza Butler, a co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House bid, embraces someone as they wait for Harris to deliver her concession speech at Howard University after losing the presidential election. Butler described the Senate as a “foreign land” and recounted the unexpected challenges that marked her tenure, including Hamas’ stealth attack on Israel in October 2023 and …

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Interview: California’s newest senator, Laphonza Butler, on Trump, Gaza and her future
11 months, 1 week ago

Interview: California’s newest senator, Laphonza Butler, on Trump, Gaza and her future

LA Times  

Sen. Laphonza Butler, whom Gov. Butler, who has said she will not run for reelection, discussed the 2024 presidential race, why she has not called for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, California’s waning power in Congress and what her political future might look like after she leaves the Senate. There’s, I think, an opportunity to really do some meaningful …

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Killings in the U.S. are dropping at a historic rate. Will anyone notice?
1 year, 2 months ago

Killings in the U.S. are dropping at a historic rate. Will anyone notice?

LA Times  

In a country the size of the U.S., scenes like this, of police investigating a homicide in Ontario, CA., are daily occurrences. But “the concept of a violent crime wave — it just really doesn’t exist,” Asher said. “Every time there’s a smash-and-grab, it just amplifies in people’s minds that crime’s out of control,” said pollster David Paleologos, director of …

Crime Country California Democrats Senate Israel Angeles
Newly appointed California Sen. Laphonza Butler will not seek election to a full term in 2024
1 year, 2 months ago

Newly appointed California Sen. Laphonza Butler will not seek election to a full term in 2024

Associated Press  

Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election. LOS ANGELES — Newly appointed California Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler announced Thursday she will not seek election to a full term in 2024, avoiding what would have been a costly and bruising race for the seat held for three decades by the late Dianne Feinstein. “It may not be the …

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Sen. Laphonza Butler, caretaker of the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat, won’t run in 2024 election
1 year, 2 months ago

Sen. Laphonza Butler, caretaker of the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat, won’t run in 2024 election

LA Times  

The announcement by Sen. Laphonza Butler means she won’t shake up an already volatile race that includes three prominent Democrats. Labor leader and prominent Democratic activist Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to fill Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat after the veteran California politician died, announced Thursday that she would not run for a full Senate term in 2024. It may not …

Black Campaign Election Race Democratic California Democrats
The Hamas-Israel war is dividing college campuses
1 year, 2 months ago

The Hamas-Israel war is dividing college campuses

LA Times  

Clockwise from top left: Students rally on the UCLA campus in support of Palestinians, USC students attend an evening vigil in support of Israel, a pro-Palestinian rally at Cal State Long Beach, and a pro-Israel vigil at USC. 8 great places to learn to sew in L.A. And here’s today’s e-newspaper The Hamas-Israel violence conflict is dividing college campuses Tense …

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Laphonza Butler knows how to amass quiet power. Will she win in the public arena?
1 year, 2 months ago

Laphonza Butler knows how to amass quiet power. Will she win in the public arena?

LA Times  

As then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential bid was collapsing in late 2019 amid factional infighting, her campaign badly needed a trusted person who could close the operation down — pay off bills, terminate contracts and counsel staff members who needed jobs. “She is an individual who doesn’t pound her chest,” said Wendy Greuel, a former Los Angeles city controller who serves …

Labor Job Political Union Democratic California Washington
After busy first week as U.S. senator, Laphonza Butler says she has COVID-19
1 year, 2 months ago

After busy first week as U.S. senator, Laphonza Butler says she has COVID-19

LA Times  

Sen. Laphonza Butler speaks in downtown Los Angeles on Friday during a celebration of the second anniversary of the Roybal School of Film and Television Production Magnet. After a bustling first week in her new role as U.S. senator, meeting with union leaders and hobnobbing with celebrity political donors across California, Laphonza Butler said Sunday that she has COVID-19. “Per …

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How Newsom made his surprise decision for Senate pick
1 year, 2 months ago

How Newsom made his surprise decision for Senate pick

LA Times  

Then-California Democratic candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. “Everybody else said, ‘Well, he’s painted himself in a corner,’” Newsom told reporters in San Francisco last week. “So how you make the choice and the media narrative that week is much less important than the choice that you make and what that means for California’s representation in the Senate going forward.” Newsom …

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Column: Black women pulled together for a Senate seat. Now it’s pulling Black women apart
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: Black women pulled together for a Senate seat. Now it’s pulling Black women apart

LA Times  

California’s new senator, Laphonza Butler, is sworn into the Congressional Black Caucus at the U.S. Capitol last week. “Every Black woman he called should have been like, ‘Do you need Barbara’s number?’” lamented one member of the sisterhood who, like so many, didn’t want to be named. “All the Black women in California, in the political sphere, were in lockstep …

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Matt Gaetz is widely hated in Congress. He was able to oust Kevin McCarthy anyway
1 year, 2 months ago

Matt Gaetz is widely hated in Congress. He was able to oust Kevin McCarthy anyway

LA Times  

Kevin McCarthy was ousted yesterday from his seat by eight members of his own party, aided by Democrats in no mood to help him. The coup was orchestrated and led by one of Capitol Hill’s least popular figures, Matt Gaetz of Florida, after McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a last-ditch effort to prevent a federal shutdown. “Kevin McCarthy said …

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Feinstein's successor Laphonza Butler takes office as California's new senator
1 year, 2 months ago

Feinstein's successor Laphonza Butler takes office as California's new senator

NPR  

Feinstein's successor Laphonza Butler takes office as California's new senator Enlarge this image toggle caption Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images Laphonza Butler, a former labor leader and Democratic strategist, was sworn-in as California's new U.S. "I can't help but think of how proud Senator Feinstein would be, seeing someone as brilliant, as accomplished, as history-making as Laphonza …

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California’s incoming senator, Laphonza Butler, describes her whirlwind trip into history
1 year, 2 months ago

California’s incoming senator, Laphonza Butler, describes her whirlwind trip into history

LA Times  

Emily’s List President Laphonza Butler addresses a Biden-Harris campaign rally on the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs vs. Jackson decision, which struck down a federal right to abortion. “And it’s been a sort of whirlwind ever since.” California Newsom taps Laphonza Butler for Feinstein’s Senate seat Butler is a Democratic strategist who rose to prominence in the …

Labor Women Rights Democratic California Senate Los Angeles
This week, a temblor reshaped California politics
1 year, 2 months ago

This week, a temblor reshaped California politics

LA Times  

Laphonza Butler, from left, wife Neneki Lee and Vice President Kamala Harris reenact the swearing-in of Butler as the successor of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. On the Democratic side, four people “dominated California politics for the last 50 years,” said former State Controller Steve Westly, pointing to former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, Gov. “It’s refreshing to have a new …

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Column: Black women like Laphonza Butler should be on ballot
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: Black women like Laphonza Butler should be on ballot

LA Times  

As a union leader in 2015, Laphonza Butler, left, appeared before the L.A. City Council in support of raising the city’s minimum wage. But can Democratic men now stop pledging to appoint Black women as though they’re a charity in need of matching contributions? Black women have never needed an electoral quid pro quo — a “vote for me and …

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Laphonza Butler Will Be The First Black, Openly LGBTQ+ Woman In The Senate Or House
1 year, 2 months ago

Laphonza Butler Will Be The First Black, Openly LGBTQ+ Woman In The Senate Or House

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Laphonza Butler, who California Gov. Laphonza’s appointment today is an exception to that rule, being a big step forward in our push for a more representative government.” “It is only right that a Black woman who has paved the way for countless others to lead is now given an opportunity to lead herself,” said NAACP president and …

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Women’s Rights Campaigner Laphonza Butler Appointed California Senator, Takes Feinstein's Seat
1 year, 2 months ago

Women’s Rights Campaigner Laphonza Butler Appointed California Senator, Takes Feinstein's Seat

News 18  

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday appointed women’s rights campaigner and former labor union leader Laphonza Butler to the United States Senate, filling the vacancy left by the death of Dianne Feinstein. “I’m proud to announce California’s new United States Senator — Laphonza Butler,” Newsom posted on social media platform X, lauding the new senator for her work “fighting for …

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California governor names Laphonza Butler, former Kamala Harris adviser, to Feinstein Senate seat
1 year, 2 months ago

California governor names Laphonza Butler, former Kamala Harris adviser, to Feinstein Senate seat

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, to fill the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In choosing Butler on Sunday, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman if Feinstein’s seat became open. Butler said Monday she …

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Will she run or won’t she? Laphonza Butler’s appointment could scramble California Senate race
1 year, 2 months ago

Will she run or won’t she? Laphonza Butler’s appointment could scramble California Senate race

LA Times  

The death of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday and Gov. “Butler would be a very formidable candidate who’s capable of making it into the top two,” advancing from the primary to the general election, said Feinstein’s 2018 campaign manager Jeff Millman, citing her fundraising prowess. Lee, Porter and Schiff applauded Newsom’s pick, with the Oakland representative saying she looked …

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Newsom taps Laphonza Butler for Feinstein’s Senate seat
1 year, 2 months ago

Newsom taps Laphonza Butler for Feinstein’s Senate seat

LA Times  

Gavin Newsom has picked Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist who rose to prominence in the labor movement, to fill the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, who died Friday at age 90. “An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and …

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