Newsom says he has already received a number of pitches for Harris’s open Senate seat

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday said he has already received a number of pitches from people who are seeking to fill Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s Senate seat if she and Joe Biden win the White House this November.

“You may be the only one that hasn’t, unless you just did, and that is only slight exaggeration,” Newsom told a reporter at a press conference when asked if people had already pitched themselves to be the California Democrat’s successor in the upper chamber.

Newsom, who would appoint a replacement to Harris’s seat for the rest of her term should she and Biden win in November, said he is not focused on the issue at the moment as California works to curb the spread of the coronavirus. 

“I can’t be any more pointed privately than I am publicly. That’s not what I’m focused on right now. I’m focused on what I need to be focused on, and that’s you and your health. That’s the economy and its needs and the support we need to provide small businesses and the priority of getting our kids back in school. That’s what matters to you, and that’s what matters to me as my top priority,” he said. 

Several names have already floated as to who could fill the rest of Harris’s term, which ends in early 2023. Among them are Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), another former prospective vice presidential pick; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

Newsom, who has worked closely with Harris in California politics for a number of years, said he was proud she was picked to join Biden’s ticket and praised her “character and competency and her devotion to the cause that I think unites the vast majority of us.”

“It is a proud moment, historic, and it’s a very meaningful … moment for California,” he said.

Biden first announced Tuesday that Harris would be his running mate, making her the first Black and Indian American woman to be on a major party’s presidential ticket.