Out Sen. Laphonza Butler won’t run in 2024

Out Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) said that she will not run for a full term next year.

Butler was picked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) earlier this month to fill the seat left open by Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) death. Butler is one of three out LGBTQ+ senators at the moment and the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate.

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New senator Laphonza Butler helped elect these 5 LGBTQ+ politicians before becoming one herself

New senator Laphonza Butler helped elect these 5 LGBTQ+ politicians before becoming one herself

Feinstein’s term was up next year, and she had said before she passed away that she wasn’t seeking reelection. Several prominent California Democrats are planning campaigns for next year’s Senate race, including Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff, and Barbara Lee.

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“Knowing you can win a campaign doesn’t always mean you should run a campaign,” she told the AP. “I know this will be a surprise to many because traditionally we don’t see those who have power let it go. It may not be the decision people expected, but it’s the right one for me.”

She said she made her decision by thinking about “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.”

Butler’s appointment helps ensure that the narrowly divided Senate will maintain its slight Democratic control leading into the 2024 elections. She is known as a savvy political consultant, union leader, and fundraising powerhouse for female pro-choice candidates.

She served as a senior strategist in Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, has worked as the director for public policy and campaigns at the homestay rentals company Airbnb, served as president of the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union (representing 325,000 nursing home and home-care workers throughout the state), and served on the University of California Board of Regents.

She and wife Neneki Lee have an eight-year-old daughter, Nylah.