California Senator Laphonza Butler won’t seek new US Senate term next year

By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Newly appointed California Senator Laphonza Butler, a Democrat, said on Thursday she will not seek a new U.S. Senate term next year. Butler, a former labor organizer and political fundraiser who was tapped earlier this month to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Oct. 1, said instead she would focus on the time left in her appointed position, just over a year. Her decision relieves a potential political problem for California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who had said he would not take sides in a crowded field of candidates seeking …

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