For decades, California has elected two female senators, and women’s groups suggest that it would be unfair to have Ms. Harris’s seat handed to a man. (A New Yorker story published this month raised pointed questions about her mental acuity and short-term memory, and Ms. Feinstein later defended herself.) Ms. Feinstein has said she believes Mr. Padilla should be appointed to Ms. Harris’s seat, a position that has prompted some to suggest she should resign if she is so determined for Mr. Padilla to take office. Ms. Feinstein herself easily defeated Kevin de León, a former Democratic leader of the California State Senate, during her 2016 re-election campaign. “Any say she thinks she has in this seat — no,” said Molly Watson, of the progressive group Courage California.

Source: New York Times December 19, 2020 09:56 UTC