Resources for the appointment of Laphonza Butler to the U.S. Senate

Last night, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he was appointing EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy caused by the passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein. The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, provides data to contextualize this appointment.

• Laphonza Butler will become just the third Black woman to serve in the United States Senate.
• No Black women currently serve in the Senate.
• The two Black women who previously served in the Senate are Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL), who was elected in 1992, and Kamala Harris (D-CA), who was elected in 2016.
• When Butler is sworn in, California will become the first state to have sent more than one Black woman to the Senate.

CAWP resources on Black women in American government:

Black Women in American Politics 2023. Our most recent report on Black women's representation at multiple levels of office and Black women candidates. This report is created on a regular basis with our partners at Higher Heights.

Black Women in Elective Office. The most current data on Black women serving in political office, as well as historical data and milestones.

Gender and Race/Ethnicity Research. Reports, journal articles, and other research on race and ethnicity and women's role in American politics.

Women in the U.S. Congress 2023. The latest information on women currently serving in Congress.

The CAWP Women Elected Officials Database. Entries for every woman who has served in statewide elective, state legislative, and federal office in U.S. history in a database searchable by race and ethnicity, partisan status, time, state, and more.

Additional information and scholarship on women in American politics is available on the CAWP website.