Several Democrats began preparing potential bids to succeed Rep. Adam Schiff even before he announced his Senate bid Thursday, and there could be a crowded contest to replace him in California’s 30th District, which includes part of Los Angeles as well as all of Burbank and Glendale. This constituency, which is home to landmarks like Griffith Park, the Hollywood Sign, and Universal Studios Hollywood, backed Joe Biden by a 72-20 margin, so there’s a very good chance that two strong Democrats could advance out of the top-two primary.
One announced candidate is tech businessman Joshua Bocanegra, who does not appear to have run for office before; Bocanegra tweeted over the weekend that he’d considered his own Senate bid, but “I realized that my district is where I can have the most impact.”
Another declared contender is Maebe A. Girl, a member of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council who attracted national attention in 2022 when she tried to become the first trans member of Congress. Girl, a drag performer who uses she/they pronouns, became the first nonbinary congressional candidate to ever compete in a general two years after falling short, but Schiff prevailed 71-29.
Two elected officials also set up campaign committees with the FEC about two weeks ahead of Schiff’s launch: Nick Melvoin, who is a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman. Actor Ben Savage, the “Boy Meets World” star who lost a race for West Hollywood City Council last year, filed with the FEC last week too.
Politico reported two weeks ago that state Sen. Anthony Portantino is “widely expected” to get in as well, and he filed new FEC paperwork Thursday. Portantino launched a campaign for Congress back in 2011 against Republican incumbent David Dreier, but neither man ended up running for office the next year after redistricting completely scrambled the map; Portantino, though, still has $180,000 on-hand from that effort. Former Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, who ran for mayor last year but dropped out before the nonpartisan primary, also Politico this month he was “very seriously” considering.