In the hours after it was announced that longtime California Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away, and while serious speculation about who Gov. Gavin Newsom would appoint as a replacement was happening on social media, there was also some lighthearted speculation about some non-traditional candidates Newsom could appoint. I wrote about those possibilities a few hours later, but as I was researching the piece I realized that the Meghan Markle suggestion was actually a legit possibility.

Unfortunately, this isn't as far-fetched as one might think at first glance. One extremely reliable Hollywood gossip site reported that Markle has been talking with Newsom since 2021- before he made the statement that he would fill any vacancy with a black woman - about a possible appointment, and that Markle is on the short list. Markle and "First Partner" Jennifer Siebel Newsom have a lot in common, particularly that they're both terrible actresses with abundant ambition and low morals, so Jen would probably be very on board with that appointment. Markle is not blond, so she's not the type Gavin normally screws around with, so she has that going for her as well. She's so thirsty for the appointment that she even invited the Newsoms to her son's birthday party. 

Now that speculation is being confirmed, as the Mail on Sunday reports that Markle's name "was being bandied about in Hollywood [Saturday] night as a long-shot replacement for Californian Senator Dianne Feinstein."

Their report recalls that back in 2020 Markle and Prince Harry had an hour-long meeting with Newsom when he was contemplating a replacement for Kamala Harris after her election as Vice President. Frighteningly, that's allegedly not her highest aim.

At the time, The Mail on Sunday reported that a senior Labour Party source confirmed Meghan had been 'networking among senior Democrats' with a view to building a grass roots campaign to fuel her political ambitions - with the US Presidency her ultimate aim. 

Markle continued to meet with Newsom in 2021 about the possibility of either running for Senate when Feinstein retired or being at the front of the line if Feinstein had to step down mid-term or if she died in office. She's also been hanging out with Gloria Steinem, and a friend of Steinem told the Mail:

'Gloria has been introducing Meghan to pivotal people within the party. Meghan is interested in politics more than anything else. That's where she believes her power is but she has had to focus on making money.'

Of course, Markle is also close to Oprah Winfrey, who's also been floated as a possible replacement. But Oprah might not want to deal with everything involved with the office, and might want to help her mentee carry out some revenge on the Royal Family by helping fundraise for a Markle re-elect. Though Newsom previously said that he would only be appointing a "caretaker" for the seat, his office now says that whoever Newsom appoints would be free to run for the full term in 2024. (Practically, there's no way for him to ban the person from doing that anyway.)

BREAKING NEWS — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointee to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat will be free to run for a full term in 2024, & there will be no precondition that this is a temporary replacement.

Senate Dem leadership expects swearing-in by midweek.

From me & @JakeSherman

— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) October 1, 2023

That's not to say that Markle is on the really short list. Also reported in the Mail on Sunday piece:

A major Democratic donor who is close to Californian Governor Gavin Newsom - who will choose Feinstein's replacement - told the MoS: 'Meghan is definitely a long-shot but in the craziness that is US politics these days it's not an impossibility. Crazier things have happened.'

A Democrat source said of Newsom's dilemma:

'The problem he now faces is that all the best candidates have already announced they will be running for Feinstein's seat in November 2024, the next election.

'Governor Newsom cannot elect any of those candidates to the position now as it would be seen as a huge, and very unfair, advantage.

'If he puts any of the very good black women candidates in the job now he will be accused of favouritism.

'So he needs to find a woman of colour who can do the job for 13 months and will agree to not stand against any of the seasoned politicians who have already thrown their hats into the ring.

'There are not that many women who fit the bill. Which is why Meghan's name is being bandied about.'

I'm not extremely confident in that analysis because there is at least one black woman Newsom could appoint who's not running for Feinstein's seat, and who is an experienced legislator - Shirley Weber, the current Secretary of State. Weber served in the California State Assembly for a decade before Newsom appointed her Secretary of State in December 2020. That seat was open because Newsom appointed Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate, replacing Kamala Harris. Given that domino effect Newsom created, it would be silly to think Newsom's not looking at this situation in the same way. That's why many who report on California politics daily believe that in the end Newsom will appoint Weber. Then he can appoint another Secretary of State, and he'd most definitely pick someone who's down with his quest to keep Donald Trump off California's ballot.

When Shirley Weber was appointed as Secretary of State there was at least one interesting and unintended consequence, though. That appointment led to a vacancy in the Assembly, and Weber's daughter, Akilah, won that special election and then (of course) won in the general. Akilah's win opened up her city council seat in liberal La Mesa, outside of San Diego. People in that city were shocked when Laura Lothian, a woman who very openly supports Donald Trump, was elected to replace Akilah Weber. So, if Newsom's appointment this time could also eventually lead to a MAGA candidate winning local office, I'm all for it.