Laphonza Romanique Butler (born May 1979) is an American political strategist and politician who is the United States senator-designate from California. She has served as president of EMILY's List. On October 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he had chosen Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Early life and education

Butler was born in Magnolia, Mississippi, the youngest of three children. Her father died of heart disease when she was 16 years old. She attended South Pike High School in Magnolia and Jackson State University.

Career

Butler began her career as a union organizer for nurses in Baltimore and Milwaukee, janitors in Philadelphia, and hospital workers in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2009, she moved to California, organizing in-home caregivers and nurses, and served as president of SEIU United Long Term Care Workers, SEIU Local 2015.

Butler was elected president of the California SEIU State Council in 2013. She undertook efforts to boost California's minimum wage and raise income taxes on the wealthiest Californians. As president of SEIU Local 2015, Butler endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.

In 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Butler to a 12-year term as a regent of the University of California. She resigned from her role as regent in 2021.

Butler joined SCRB Strategies as a partner in 2018. At SCRB, she played a central role in Kamala Harris's 2020 presidential campaign. Butler also advised Uber in its dealings with organized labor while at SCRB. She was known as a political ally of Harris since her first run for California Attorney General in 2010, when she helped Harris negotiate a shared SEIU endorsement in the race.

Butler left SCRB in 2020 to join Airbnb as director of public policy and campaigns in North America.

Butler was named the third president of EMILY's List in 2021. She was the first Black woman and mother to lead the organization.

U.S. Senate

Appointment

On October 1, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom chose Butler to become the next U.S. senator from California, taking the seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein on September 29, 2023, and fulfilling a pledge to appoint a Black woman to the office.

Upon taking office, she would become the first LGBT member of the U.S. Senate from California and the first black lesbian to serve in the Senate.

Personal life

Butler is lesbian. She and her partner, Neneki Lee, have a daughter. They moved to Maryland in 2021 when she assumed the presidency of EMILY's List. Governor Newsom's office stated Butler would reregister to vote in California before taking office as a senator.