(DCWatchdog.com) – Billionaire Oprah Winfrey could become the next member of the US Senate if ailing 89-year-old Democrat Dianne Feinstein has to step down and California Governor Gavin Newsom picks her replacement.
Feinstein, who has been in the Senate since 1990, was absent for more than two months over a case of shingles and reportedly suffers from memory and mental acuity problems.
Several high-profile Democrats have called on Feinstein to resign but to no avail for the time being.
If the elderly California Democrat decides to do, her home state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, would have to appoint a successor for her until the 2024 election, and, according to The Associated Press, he might decide to choose TV personality and mogul Oprah Winfrey.
The AP report claims Winfrey is among several names considered at the governor’s office, The New York Post reports, noting Newsom has promised to choose a black woman if Feinstein has to be replaced.
During the 2022 midterm elections, Winfrey endorsed several Democrat candidates in critical races.
Those include John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, Val Demmings in Florida, Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin, Beto O’Rourke in Texas, Raphael Warnock in Georgia, and Stacey Abrams in Georgia.
Winfrey had ruled out multiple times running for president of the United States, although, before the 2020 election, there were strong rumors she might do so.
“I am not here because I am making some grandstand, because I’m thinking about running myself. I don’t want to run. I am not trying to test any waters, don’t want to go in those waters,” the billionaire stated in 2018 during a speech supporting Stacey Abrams’ candidacy for Georgia governor.
Several Democrat members of the US House of Representatives have already announced they would vie for Feinstein’s Senate seat – including Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, who are white, and Rep. Barbara Lee, who is black.
The Post forecasts that if Newsom chooses Lee for a potential Feinstein replacement, she would likely become the frontrunner in the 2024 Senate seat race.
Last week, The Los Angeles Times reported Feinstein’s aides and the US Capitol Police were shielding her from reporters and photojournalists.
Gavin Newsom considering Oprah Winfrey to replace Dianne Feinstein in Senate: report https://t.co/AD11f9uaYB pic.twitter.com/MwVkGUHzyx
— New York Post (@nypost) May 24, 2023
