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Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA), appointed earlier this month to fill the vacancy following the death of Dianne Feinstein, said that she will not run for the seat in the 2024 election.
Butler told The New York Times that she realized that “this is not the greatest use of my voice.” She later confirmed her decision in a statement in which she said that “knowing you can win a campaign doesn’t always mean you should run a campaign.”
“I know this will be a surprise to many because traditionally we don’t see those who have power let it go,” she said. “It may not be the decision people expected but it’s the right one for me.”
Butler’s entry would have changed the dynamics of the race, in which three House Democrats, Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, are competing in the open primary next March. On Wednesday, TV news anchor Christina Pascucci said that she is also running for the seat as an independent Democrat, while former baseball star Steve Garvey, a Republican, announced his bid earlier this month.
Butler was appointed to the seat by Governor Gavin Newsom after serving as the president of Emily’s List. He had pledged to name a Black woman to the seat, but he also said that he did not want to select a candidate already in the race so as to not influence the outcome of the election.
Had she run, Butler would have had the advantages of incumbency, as voters already can weigh her performance. But she said in her statement that she spent the last 16 days “pursuing my clarity — what kind of life I want to have, what kind of service I want to offer and what kind of voice I want to bring forward.”
“California voters want leaders who think about them and the issues they care most about. I now have 383 days to serve the people of California with every ounce of energy and effort that I have,” she said.
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