Rep. Barbara Lee to launch run for Feinstein Senate seat by end of month
Cami Mondeaux
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Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) is planning to launch a Senate campaign in California by the end of this month in what is shaping up to be a crowded field seeking to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in 2024.
Lee will announce her Senate bid sometime during Black History Month to help mark her entry as the first black candidate in the race, a source told the Washington Post. The 12-term representative is expected to make diversity a key tenet of her campaign, pointing to the lack of black female senators after Vice President Kamala Harris’s departure in 2021.
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“Currently, there are no Black Women in the U.S. Senate, and there have only been two in our almost 250-year history. Our voices are sorely missed in the Senate. My lived experience as a Black woman making true progressive change for Californians will give a voice in the U.S. to those who are currently voiceless,” Lee told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Lee has been eyeing a Senate campaign for weeks, first telling her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in January that she planned to run. Lee’s decision to run could set the stage for a contentious primary, as she will join fellow Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Katie Porter (D-CA) in fighting for the seat before Feinstein has even announced whether she plans to retire.
Lee would square off with well-known and well-funded adversaries. Schiff has received the coveted endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), establishing himself as an early favorite.
It’s unclear what Feinstein plans to do after her term ends in 2024, but it’s widely expected the 89-year-old will retire. If so, her retirement would open a Senate seat in California that hasn’t been up for grabs since 1992.
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Porter was the first to launch her Senate campaign on Jan. 10. Schiff followed suit just two weeks later, announcing his bid on Jan. 26.
The primary field could grow even further in the coming weeks as other high-profile Democrats, such as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), mull a Senate bid.