Senator Meghan Markle? Speculation mounts Duchess of Sussex will try to replace Feinstein

 Could it be Sen. Meghan Markle?

It’s unlikely the Duchess of Sussex will be tapped to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who died Friday at the age of 90 — but that doesn’t mean the actress-turned-royal won’t toss her hat in the ring, the Daily Mail reports.

Sources told the outlet within minutes of the Senate stalwart’s passing, phones “lit up” with speculation that Markle might look to be appointed to fill the seat until Feinstein’s term expires in January 2025.

Yet despite Markle’s friendship with big-time Dems like Oprah Winfrey and the Kennedy family, there’s little chance of a vault to the Capitol..

“Meghan is definitely a long shot, but in the craziness that is US politics these days it’s not an impossibility,” a major Democratic donor who’s close to California Gov. Gavin Newsom told the news outlet. “Crazier things have happened.”

Newsom, a two-term Democrat who may have presidential aspirations, must soon choose a replacement for Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in Senate history.

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Meghan Markle is reportedly a long-shot candidate to replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died last week at age 90.

WireImage

The 55-year-old governor reportedly interviewed Markle for a Senator’s spot in October 2020, when he had to replace then-Sen. Kamala Harris after she was chosen by Joe Biden to run with him against Donald Trump.

Markle had been networking among senior Democrats as she angled for the job, with the US presidency as her alleged ultimate goal, a source told the Daily Mail.

Although she and Prince Harry met virtually with Newsom, he ultimately picked another candidate.

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Feinstein was the longest-serving woman in US Senate history before her death.

CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

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Feinstein, whose flag-draped coffin is shown here, was allegedly told by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that he’d appoint a black woman to fill her seat.

AP

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Newsom reportedly interviewed Markle back in 2020 to fill Vice President Kamala Harris’s then-vacant seat. But he eventually chose someone else.

Getty Images

Before Feinstein’s death, Newsom reportedly told her he’d replace her with a black woman. But the best candidates have already announced they’re running for the seat next fall, the Daily Mail reported.

Picking one of those candidates to fill Feinstein’s seat until then could lead to accusations of favoritism, a source told the outlet.

“So he needs to find a woman of color 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,” the source said.

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Feinstein had been sick for several months before her death with a variety of ailments that caused her to miss time in the upper chamber.

The Washington Post via Getty Images

“There are not that many women who fit the bill,” the source noted. “Which is why Meghan’s name is being bandied about.”

Markle has also befriended Gloria Steinem, the longtime feminist icon who’s been “introducing Meghan to pivotal people within the party,” a friend of Steinem’s told the outlet.

https://nypost.com/2023/10/01/senator-meghan-markle-speculation-mounts-duchess-of-sussex-will-try-to-replace-feinstein/