Speculation has begun about who California Gov. Gavin Newsome will appoint to fill the remaining two years of Kamala Harris’ Senate term. It will, of course, be a Democrat. Beyond that, everybody has an opinion about who it should be. (Read story here.)
Insiders say it won’t be a white male, otherwise Rep. Adam Schiff would be a leading contender. Blacks are lobbying Newsome to appoint another black woman (e.g., Karen Bass), while Hispanic groups want him to appoint a Hispanic (e.g., Alex Padilla), while Indian Americans are touting one of theirs (Rep. Ro Khanna).
None of this makes much sense. A U.S. Senator has to represent the entire state. What does make good political sense is appointing a seasoned Democratic politician with proven statewide voter appeal, whom the party can rally behind so they don’t tear themselves apart fighting over the nomination in 2022, and is a good bet to keep the seat in Democratic hands in the 2022 election.
It also would make political sense to choose someone from southern California, because most of the state’s key office holders are from the Bay Area, and Los Angeles is underrepresented.
Because California’s population is 72% white, ruling out a white person simply for being white is neither logical nor fair. But practical politics isn’t based on that kind of logic, or notions of fairness; and ethnic politics is playing an ever-larger role in U.S. politics.
In those terms, California’s second-largest ethnic group Asian-Americans (15%), although that’s a wide umbrella taking numerous national origins, and is hardly a homogenous group. Behind them are blacks (at 6.5%).
Why not just choose someone who is a darn good politician, who will represent the state well, and is well-positioned to get elected to the seat in 2022? I’m not suggesting anyone in particular, just that the selection be blind to race, gender, and ethnicity, and focus on ability and voter appeal.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is not altogether leaving the Senate. As Vice President, she continue to spend some time there in her constitutional role as President of the Senate, and she will hold the tiebreaking vote if Senators tie in Senate votes.