Even as Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has worked to restrict the rights of trans youth, Virginia remains the sole state in the South with more protections for LGBTQIA+ people than discriminatory policies—a status that could change after this week’s elections.
Author: Mel Leonor Barclay, The 19th
Mel Leonor Barclay is a political reporter. She has a decade of experience covering government and elections, from tiny South Florida localities to Congress. Most recently, Leonor Barclay was a Virginia politics reporter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and previously covered federal policy at POLITICO. Leonor Barclay is an immigrant of the Dominican Republic and native Spanish speaker.
Laphonza Butler Tapped to Fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Seat
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday named Laphonza Butler, the first Black woman to lead EMILY’s List, to fill the Senate vacancy created by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Butler was named two years ago to lead EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion access, and has led the organization through the end of federal abortion rights. Butler will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ senator from California.
“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she’ll represent us proudly in the United States Senate,” Newsom said in a statement.
What a Landmark Sweatshop Case Tells Us About Julie Su’s Approach to Labor
In 1995, dozens of garment workers, most of them women, were freed from a California sweatshop. Their lawyer was Julie Su—now Biden’s nominee to head the Labor Department.