U.S. Senate nominee Laphonza Butler is a longtime political operative with ties to Vice President Kamala Harris, failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — the man who nominated her to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Butler has been the president of pro-abortion EMILY’s List since 2021, a group that bankrolls the campaigns of pro-abortion, female, Democrat politicians to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. She has since announced that she will be stepping down in response to the nomination. The appointment of Butler, 44, fulfills Newsom’s 2021 pledge to replace Feinstein with a black woman.
I'm proud to announce California's new United States Senator -- Laphonza Butler.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 2, 2023
As we mourn the enormous loss of Sen. Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for -- reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence -- have never been under greater assault.… pic.twitter.com/SOnbfVPmXj
Before becoming the “the first black woman” to lead EMILYs List, Butler served as Director of Public Policy Campaigns in North America for Airbnb. And before that, she was a partner at the political consulting firm SCRB (now called Bearstar Strategies) from January 2019 to September of 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile. A web archive from March of 2020 from the consulting firm’s website also shows her listed as a partner.
She was a partner at SCRB Strategies “at a time when the political consulting firm’s clients included Newsom and (now Vice President Kamala) Harris,” the Washington Post reported. Breitbart News reached out to Newsom’s office asking if Butler ever directly consulted on any of his campaigns but did not receive a response by time of publication.
“Before joining Emily’s List — a political organization dedicated to electing women to political office — she served as director of public policy and campaigns at Airbnb and partnered at the political consulting firm SCRB Strategies — now Bearstar Strategies — whose clients included Newsom, former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and then-Sen. Kamala Harris,” the Los Angeles Times also confirmed. “The firm is run by the governor’s veteran strategists Ace Smith, Sean Clegg and Juan Rodriguez.”
This is notably Newsom’s second Senate appointment: After the 2020 election, Newsom appointed Alex Padilla, then California’s secretary of state, to succeed Kamala Harris following her election to the Vice Presidency. He and Newsom had a long relationship, with Padilla chairing Newsom’s first campaign for governor in 2009. Newsom dropped out when former Gov. Jerry Brown entered the race and instead ran for lieutenant governor, a job he held for eight years. When he ran again for governor in 2018 in a competitive primary, Padilla endorsed him over other prominent Democrats, including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
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Butler played a large role in Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign as senior adviser. Butler previously “helped her shore up support from labor unions before Harris ran for California attorney general” and won in 2010, the Post reported.
In her later role as president of EMILYs List, Butler continued to assist Harris in her political ambitions.
In June, EMILY’s List announced it would be dumping more than $10 million to prop up Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. Butler has also allegedly advised Harris on how to “amplify her role as the White House’s leading warrior” against Republican-led laws protecting unborn babies from abortion, Axios reported. Since then, Harris as continued voicing her position that there should be no limits on abortion in the United States.
Under Butler’s leadership, EMILYs list said it partnered with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America (now called Reproductive Freedom for All) during the 2022 midterms to raise and spend a historic $150 million. OpenSecrets shows EMILYs List made 100 percent of their total contributions in support of Democrats in the last federal election cycle.
Kamala Harris has a very difficult time explaining which gestational limits — if any — she supports on abortion-on-demand pic.twitter.com/QDq6apMNwX
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 10, 2023
In 2016, Butler also served as senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in California during the primary and general elections. Butler additionally endorsed Clinton’s run while working as president of SEIU in 2015, California’s largest labor organization.
“As president, Butler was the leading voice, strategist, and architect of efforts to address pay inequity for women in California and a top advocate for raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour — the first state in the nation to do so, benefiting millions of working women in low wage jobs,” according to Butler’s bio on EMILYs List. “That effort also gave hundreds of thousands of home workers access to paid time off. She also served as an SEIU International Vice President and President of the SEIU California State Council.”
“She has been a member of the University of California Board of Regents and a member of the board of directors for the Children’s Defense Fund and BLACK PAC,” according to the bio. “Butler grew up in Magnolia, MS, and attended one of the country’s premier HBCUs, Jackson State University.”
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California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom touted on Monday, after nominating Butler, that she will be the “first black lesbian to openly serve in the U.S. Senate.”
Indeed, Butler has openly talked and posted about being a lesbian. As the San Fransisco Chronicle reported, Butler is married to partner Neneki Lee, with whom she shares an eight-year-old daughter, Nylah.
Happy 🌈 Pride Month! I am honored to have the distinction of being the first Black lesbian woman to serve as president of EMILY’s List. I am committed to supporting our LGBTQ+ trailblazers run for office and their work to achieve justice and equality for all. pic.twitter.com/EqtHl4hjlc
— Laphonza Butler (@LaphonzaB) June 1, 2022
Butler has a long social media history of calling pro-life activists and Republicans “extremists” for wanting to protect babies in the womb. She has also claimed that “abortion bans are racist.”
I remember where I was that night when the Dobbs draft decision was leaked at about 9pm a year ago.
— Laphonza Butler (@LaphonzaB) May 2, 2023
Ever since then, we've been organizing, & we are in the fight to vote out every MAGA extremist and replace them all with a Democratic pro-choice woman. https://t.co/mrR2SzpUHe
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Additionally, Butler, who is also an outspoken supporter of the transgender activist agenda, has claimed Republicans are “attacking trans-youth” by passing laws that protect them from cross-sex hormones and sex-mutilating surgeries.
For my daughter, and all of America’s daughters, we must take this fight on with all that we have. The same Reps who stacked SCOTUS to roll back Roe, abandoned voting rights in the country, passed laws attacking gay and trans communities. Right👏🏾 Now👏🏾we must fight👏🏾.
— Laphonza Butler (@LaphonzaB) May 3, 2022
We celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with them – recognizing that with the joy comes the knowledge that there is still much work to do. pic.twitter.com/1lcL2iUhVy
— Laphonza Butler (@LaphonzaB) March 31, 2023
We are proud to have supported many groundbreaking trans women in office now, and believe that with the number of transgender elected officials increasing across the country, their bravery and leadership will continue to create safer spaces for future generations.
— Laphonza Butler (@LaphonzaB) November 20, 2022
According to Axios, Federal Election Commission records show Butler lives in Maryland; however, a spokesperson for Newsom said she is a “longtime California resident and homeowner.” Newsom’s office said Butler will re-register as a California voter before being sworn in.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
