Rep. Barbara Lee on Tuesday announced she was joining the 2024 top-two primary to succeed her fellow California Democrat, retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, with a video emphasizing that she’d be the only Black woman in the upper chamber. “I was the girl they didn’t allow in, who couldn’t drink from the water fountain,” Lee tells the audience about her childhood in Jim Crow-era Texas, continuing, “I had an abortion in a back alley when they all were illegal. I escaped a violent marriage, became a single mom, a homeless mom; a mom who couldn’t afford child care and brought her kids to class with her.”
Lee also highlights how she was the one member of Congress to vote against the 2001 war in Afghanistan, a decision that resulted in mass condemnation and even death threats at the time but even some Republican colleagues eventually came to agree with, as well as her longtime support for LGBTQ people. The 76-year-old congresswoman additionally argues she’s far from too old to start a career in the upper chamber, saying, “For those who say my time has passed, well, when does making change go out of style? I don’t quit. I don’t give up.”
Lee joins an expensive contest that includes two other prominent Democratic House members: Katie Porter, an Orange County congresswoman who made a name for herself for grilling Trump administration personnel and corporate executives at hearings, and Adam Schiff, a Los Angeles-area member who became a national favorite among Democrats for his battles against the Trump administration.
Lee ended 2022 at a huge financial disadvantage in this very expensive state. Schiff finished the year with a $20.9 million to $7.4 million cash-on-hand lead over Porter, who won a tight re-election fight the previous month, while Lee had just $50,000 available. Lee, though, could stand out in a contest where she’s currently the only serious candidate of color, as well as the only contender from the Bay Area.
It remains to be seen if any other serious Democratic candidates will run in a state where it takes a good deal of time and money to win. Rep. Ro Khanna said this month he’d “most likely” defer to Lee, though he didn’t rule out running even if she did. But two other people who had been mentioned as possible contenders, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, did take themselves out of the running on Tuesday by endorsing Lee.
Politico wrote weeks ago that Democrats have speculated that a wealthy candidate could jump in, but no names have surfaced. It’s also an open question if a Republican will be able to secure one of the top-two spots in the general election in this dark blue state, or if the second round will be a battle between two Democrats.
