California Rep. Adam Schiff, who became a national progressive favorite for his battles against the Trump administration, announced Thursday that he was running in next year’s top-two primary for the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, a fellow Democrat who has not confirmed she’ll retire in 2024. Schiff, who previously said he’d only run if Feinstein didn’t, told KQED, “I wouldn't be doing this without her blessing.” All the candidates will compete on the same ballot in the top-two primary, which is set for March 2024; the two contenders with the most votes, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election.
Schiff joins a competitive contest that already includes Rep. Katie Porter, who has her own following among Democrats across the country. Another prominent progressive, Rep. Barbara Lee, has not yet revealed her own plans, though media outlets say she told the Congressional Black Caucus she would run earlier this month. Allies of the 76-year-old Lee reportedly have told donors that she’d serve just one term in the upper chamber. A fourth Democratic congressman, Ro Khanna, is also interested, though he’s said he’ll take Lee’s decision into account.
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Other Golden State Democrats could also take a look at this race, though anyone who wants to win in this expensive and populous state can’t afford to procrastinate. Indeed, while Feinstein herself had made it clear she’s in no hurry to announce a decision, Schiff’s decision shows that few politicos expect the 89-year-old incumbent to run again. Feinstein herself said days ago she’d make her decision in the "next couple months," though she told Raw Story Wednesday, “I need a little bit of time, so it's not this year.” California’s candidate filing deadline is scheduled for December of this year.
Schiff, for his part, was elected to a House seat around Pasadena back in 2000 by unseating two-term Republican Rep. James Rogan, and he wasn’t a particularly recognizable member of Congress during his first 16 years in D.C. His profile started to dramatically rise in 2017 when as the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, he was one of the most prominent figures to accuse Donald Trump’s campaign of colluding with Russia.
Schiff went on to chair the committee after his party flipped the House in 2018, and he was the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment: On Tuesday, just two days before the Democrat launched his Senate bid, Speaker Kevin McCarthy ejected Schiff and fellow California Rep. Eric Swalwell from the Intelligence Committee, a move Schiff characterized as “trying to remove me from the intel committee for holding his boss at Mar-a-Lago accountable.”
Schiff’s national name recognition helped him accumulate a massive $20.6 million war chest through late November, money he can use on his Senate bid. Porter herself had a smaller though still substantial $7.7 million available weeks after winning a close reelection fight. Both members will certainly bring in far more as they seek to represent America’s most populous state.
We've got more developments in the 2024 Arizona Senate race as Congressman Ruben Gallego officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. On this week’s episode of The Downballot, David Beard and guest host Joe Sudbay discuss his chances in the race and how Dem-turned-Indy Kyrsten Sinema's decision on whether to run for re-election will impact Gallego's support from national Democrats. Then we discuss the upcoming Chicago mayor's race and the recent flurry of polls that have shown incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot anywhere from leading the pack to missing out on a runoff entirely. Lastly, we touch on Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's decision to run for re-election and the importance of Virginia's 2023 state elections.
We are also joined by Victoria McGroary, the Executive Director of BOLD PAC, which serves as the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. She breaks down how Democrats prevented losses among Hispanic voters in 2022 despite pundit predictions otherwise. We also discuss the ongoing problem of disinformation in Spanish language media and how BOLD PAC has fought back against it. And we heard about the memorable OR-6 Democratic primary from last year, where BOLD PAC's endorsed candidate, Andrea Salinas, managed to overcome a 12-1 spending disparity to defeat a crypto-backed candidate.
