LOS ANGELES – Jockeying started right next to the festivities in the summer. Leading California Democrats were thrilled that Kamala Harris was named as the Democratic nominee for Vice President and ready to help her and Joseph R. Biden get into the White House. That was not a question on which the sprawling and divided state political establishment disagreed. But what to do with this empty Senate seat? That was far more difficult.
Latinos make up around 40 percent of California and remain a growing population in the state. White residents make up about 38 percent, and black residents make up nearly 6 percent of the state’s roughly 40 million residents. By the time Ms. Harris won her Senate seat in 2016, the state had been represented by two white senators since 1983.
Some Latino officials point to these numbers, arguing that state governor Gavin Newsom must appoint a Latino to the U.S. Senate – without question – the first in California history.
Black political leaders, however, claim that Ms. Harris can only be replaced by a black woman. Without them, the Senate would have no black women in the Chamber.
Mr Newsom’s decision, which is expected to be taken before the end of the year, is not about politics. Every candidate whose name appears on different lists agrees on important issues. Instead, the choice makes it clear that even for advocates who genuinely believe in coalition building, the arguments are to a large extent a zero-sum game – if one group gets what it wants, it is impossible for the other group to get what it wants, too . And it has shared many leaders who are usually united.
“We have waited a long time for the representation to match the size of our community,” said Thomas A. Saenz, executive director of the Mexican-American Legal Protection and Education Fund, which campaigned for a Latino election. “We need representatives who reflect the population here. The fact is, the African American community in California is not growing and Latinos are an increasing part of the electorate. “
While the Democratic Party is preparing to take over the White House again, there are also arguments over representation in the presidential cabinet. Black, Latin American, and Asian members of Congress each advocate the transition from Biden to Harris. And efforts threaten to open divisions among Democrats who have long relied on a multiracial alliance.
The debates bring to the surface long-simmering tensions between groups that have historically struggled to attain power at the highest levels. In California, Mr. Newsom’s decision has the potential to turn a triumphant moment to see Ms. Harris in the White House into something more bittersweet for many black women.
“The governor must acknowledge that California supported a black woman, and he must meet right now,” said Aimee Allison, the founder of She the People, who also helped vote for Ms. Harris as vice president to use. “This is about realizing that capitalized black women are essential as organizers and legislators. 2020 is not the time for him to turn his back on black women. “
After California Foreign Secretary Alex Padilla emerged as the top candidate in recent weeks, activists like Ms. Allison have become increasingly frustrated. Dozens of local and national officials raised their voices and wrote a letter to the governor asking him to appoint either Congresswoman Barbara Lee or Congresswoman Karen Bass to the seat.
“No constituency is more committed and reliable to the Democratic Party than African-American women,” the letter said. “You deserve voting rights and direct representation in the United States Senate.”
Gender dynamics is also an important consideration for Mr. Newsom, who has long sought to improve his feminist credentials. California has elected two senators for decades, and women’s groups suggest it would be unfair to hand over Ms. Harris’s seat to a man.
Another sign of the complexity of the moment for California Democrats is that black and Latin American activists are jointly pushing for Dianne Feinstein’s resignation despite battling each other for a Senate seat, citing her age and obvious consolation with a few Republicans . (A New York story published earlier this month raised specific questions about her mental acuity and short-term memory, and Mrs. Feinstein later defended herself.) Mrs. Feinstein said she believed Mr. Padilla should be appointed to Mrs. Harris’ seat, a position which has led some to propose that if it is so determined that Mr Padilla take office, she should resign. Ms. Feinstein herself easily defeated Kevin de León, a former Democratic leader in the California Senate, during her 2016 re-election campaign.
“Everyone says she thinks she’s sitting in this seat – no,” said Molly Watson. the progressive group Courage California. “Getting a man into this position is really a slap in the face, and it doesn’t represent what we voted for in that office, either.”
Repeating the call for Ms. Feinstein to resign, Ms. Allison said, “It is your time to step aside and make room for those who represent a large part of the state.”
In many ways, this outspoken endorsement in both California and Washington draws lessons from the successful campaign to have Mr. Biden choose a black woman as his runmate. This summer hundreds of women and organizations went to great lengths to coordinate their efforts in daily phone calls and strategy meetings.
The efforts of the Hispanic Caucus of Congress also reflect the growing number and power of Latinos in Congress. The caucus has met regularly with dozens of Latino organizations in an attempt to unify their message, focusing on candidates who they believe have a serious chance of being selected for the cabinet.
The drive for representation today, both nationally and in California, is more aggressive and direct than in the past. This partly reflects that Democrats have not had such power in more than a decade – and that demographics have changed significantly during that time.
“We have said that one of our goals is to see the face of America in the cabinet,” said Joaquin Castro, chairman of the Hispanic Caucus in Congress, who has aggressively pushed for five Latino cabinet members, including at least one Latina woman . “Our population and our importance have grown. People don’t want to settle for less. “
After the Hispanic Caucus met with members of the transition team last week, civil rights activists, including Rev. Al Sharpton, met with Mr Biden himself last week to call for black candidates to join the cabinet.
“We are moving in the right direction but we haven’t got there yet,” Sharpton said in an interview. Mr Sharpton also joined the call for a black woman to replace Ms. Harris, but said he was careful about pitting black leaders against Latinos. “I’m very concerned about this – we don’t want this to be ugly.”
Congresswoman Judy Chu, the chairwoman of the Asian Pacific American Caucus, has also repeatedly expressed frustrations with the Biden transition team.
“We are shocked because for the first time in 20 years there is a big possibility that there is no AAPI in the cabinet,” said Ms. Chu. “What is different this time is that we feel like our voice is not being heard.”
After extensive lobbying, Mr. Biden appointed Congresswoman Deb Haaland to head the Home Office last week. For the first time a Native American was appointed to the cabinet.
In California, political organizers and activists have for the most part avoided direct confrontation with Mr. Newsom.
But both sides have made it clear that they will not easily forgive Mr. Newsom if he ignores their pleas.
“I’m really disappointed,” said MP Shirley Weber, a leading supporter of Ms. Lee and Ms. Bass. “These numbers are so strong and it cannot be said that we no longer need black women. I would have liked to have expected more from my Latino colleagues. “And some Latino leaders have expressed support for the appointment of a black woman in the past few days, including Dolores Huerta, co-founder of United Farm Workers.
Last week, Alberto Retana, the executive director of Community Coalition, a south Los Angeles-based group that Ms. Bass founded after the crack epidemic in the early 1990s, organized a petition that was sent to Mr. Newsom on Friday.
“As leaders of the Latinx community, we must lead by our values, not our demographics,” the group wrote in the letter. “For a multicultural democracy, it is imperative that we focus this choice on promoting race, gender and social justice. This is achieved through the appointment of a progressive black woman. “
