Profile Text
Birth Name: Laphonza Romanique Butler
Place of Birth: Magnolia, Mississippi, U.S.
Date of Birth: May 11, 1979
Ethnicity: African-American
Laphonza Butler is an American politician and labor union official. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a U.S. Senator from California, from October 1, 2023 to December 8, 2024. She was a union organizer for nurses in Baltimore, MD and Milwaukee, WI, janitors in Philadelphia, PA, and hospital staff in New Haven, CT; as well as president of the California SEIU State Council, and EMILY’s List, and a regent of the University of California.
She moved to California in 2009. Laphonza is married to Neneki Lee, with whom she has a daughter.