The Corner

Newsom Taps Abortion PAC Chief and Marylander to Serve as California Senator

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EMILY’s List president Laphonza Butler speaks during an event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2023.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

On Sunday night, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that he has picked Laphonza Butler, president of the pro-abortion political action committee EMILY’s List, to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the late Dianne Feinstein.

Newsom’s appointment of Butler is equivalent to a Republican governor’s filling a Senate vacancy with the president of the NRA: It’s pleasing to the base and good for fundraising. It’s no secret, but one thing many people might not know is that EMILY’s List is not named after a woman; EMILY is an acronym for “Early Money Is Like Yeast” — it “makes the dough rise.”

John McCormack

About the Author

John McCormack

John McCormack is a former Washington correspondent for National Review and was a fellow at the National Review Institute.

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