And Laphonza Butler, head of Emily’s List, gets the gig.
The established procedure is to resign and have the lieutenant governor (now acting governor) make the appointment. Former Minnesota gov. Wendell Anderson did it in 1976 to replace Walter Mondale, who had been elected Vice President. Former Illinois Gov. Blagovich probably should have appointed himself to the Senate after Barack Obama was elected President, in 2008. Instead he crashed and burned after being caught taking bribes for the Senate appointment.
If you’re interested in the history, during the original drafting of the federal constitution Edmond Randolph of Virginia introduced the so-called “Virginia plan” on May 29, 1787, including among other things a provision prohibiting members of Congress from holding any other state or federal office. This was a controversial provision and on June 22 it was debated resulting in a tied vote to strike it entirely. On June 23, the convention voted 8-3 to remove members of Congress’s ineligibility for state offices. The ineligibility clause remains a part of the constitution today, in Article I, section 6, but it only prohibits members of Congress from holding federal office during their term and, if there was a pay increase for that office during their term, any time after.
Remember that back in the eighteenth century transportation was a great burden (ships, or more often, carriages). It took much effort to assemble representatives from across the country for sessions of Congress, and indeed Congress would often go days or weeks without a quorum. A member of Congress would necessarily be away from his state for months on end. Meaning any communication to or from constituents would be by mail, which presented a practical problem for anyone hoping to hold concurrent state office. The Grand Poobah can’t vote on legislation in New Hampshire from Philadelphia.
Some states adjusted their schedules so that the state legislature met when the federal Congress was in recess. Other states simply made federal officers ineligible to hold state office, and eventually this became the norm. See, for example, the Constitution of California, Article VII, section 7:
A person holding a lucrative office under the United States or other power may not hold a civil office of profit. A local officer or postmaster whose compensation does not exceed 500 dollars per year or an officer in the militia or a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States except where on active federal duty for more than 30 days in any year is not a holder of a lucrative office, nor is the holding of a civil office of profit affected by this military service.
~Max
A Republican, Steve Garvey, has thrown his (baseball) cap into the ring for Feinstein’s seat. Apparently he was a well-known player for the Padres and Dodgers. Does he have a chance?
He had a lot of name recognition as a star player and general celebrity nice guy around town back in the '70s & 80s. He and his wife are Ken & Barbie hot, plus painfully wholesome-looking. Or were back then when they were 25-30yos.
How much any of that matters in 2023 I cannot say. Been away from there too long.
Moderating:
Diane Feinstein has died and can no longer resign from the Senate, which was the subject of this thread.
There’s a different thread for speculation about what will happen to her seat in the upcoming election:
Let’s please use the newer thread for this discussion. I’m going to close this thread now.