Former Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is seriously considering a run
California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is retiring at the end of her term. Since she made her decision official on Thursday many, many names have been mentioned as possible successors, and a few potential candidates have taken their names out of the running. Over the last few months
Politico,
Roll Call, and the
San Francisco Chronicle have all taken a look at who could succeed Boxer. On Thursday we also got more potential names from
MSNBC, the
Sacramento Bee,
The Hill, and the
Washington Post.
Head below the fold for a look at which candidates may run, and who has ruled out a campaign. Our lists in this post will be updated throughout Monday as new candidates come onto the radar, take themselves out of the running, or supply other important information about their intentions: We'll track any changes with updates above the fold.
9:28 AM PT: Democratic Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom will not run.
2:12 PM PT: Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell's campaign consultant says he is considering a bid and will decide by the end of the month.
3:11 PM PT: Democratic Treasurer John Chiang's camp confirms he's thinking about a run.
3:46 PM PT: A source close to Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla says he isn't ruling out a bid.
5:09 PM PT: Democratic Attorney General Kamala Harris is reportedly kicking off her campaign on Tuesday.
We'll start with potential Democratic contenders, along with any other pertinent information about their intentions:
• Rep. Karen Bass
• Rep. Xavier Becerra
• Treasurer John Chiang- constant confirms he's considering running
• Rep. John Garamendi- confirmed that he is considering a bid
• Attorney General Kamala Harris— reportedly announcing on Tuesday that she's in
• Former Rep. Jane Harman
• Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson—office answered "no comment" when asked about his plans
• Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
• San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo
• Former Treasurer Bill Lockyer
• Secretary of State Alex Padilla- a source close to him says not ruling it out
• Rep. Raul Ruiz
• Rep. Loretta Sanchez—did not rule out a run on Thursday, and is reportedly seeking endorsements
• Rep. Adam Schiff
• Los Angeles County Supervisor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
• Rep. Jackie Speier
• Former state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg—doesn't sound interested but doesn't rule it out when asked
• Billionaire Tom Steyer—sources close to him say he's interested
• Rep. Eric Swalwell- consultant confirms he's thinking about it
• Former Rep. Ellen Tauscher—confirms she'll "think about it."
• Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa—announced that he is seriously considering a run
• Former Controller Steve Westly
• Controller Betty Yee
We also have some Democrats who took their name out of consideration:
• Rep. Ami Bera
• Gov. Jerry Brown
• Rep. Julia Brownley
• Rep. Jared Huffman
• State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon
• Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
• Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom
• Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg
• Rep. Mark Takano
It won't be easy for Republicans to pick up this seat, though Democrats need to take the possibility of two Republicans making it into the general election seriously. In any case, here are some of Team Red's prospective candidates:
• Former state party chair Tom Del Beccaro—says he's thinking about it
• Former Rep. Mary Bono
• Assemblyman Rocky Chavez
• Former San Diego Councilman and 2014 CA-52 nominee Carl DeMaio—said he has no plans to run "at this time"
• Former Rep. David Dreier—has not commented on his intentions
• 2014 gubernatorial nominee Neel Kashkari
• Wealthy physicist Charles Munger
• Former Rep. Doug Ose
• Former Insurance Commissioner and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner
• Rep. Ed Royce
• Former state party chair Duf Sundheim—says he's "seriously exploring" a bid
• Fresno Mayor and 2014 controller nominee Ashley Swearengin—confirms she's thinking about it
• HP CEO and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman
In the unlikely but not definitely no category for the GOP we have:
• San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer
• Former Rep. Tom Campbell—doesn't anticipate another run
On Thursday Faulconer tweeted that his focus is on leading San Diego and "continuing to write our city's comeback story." That's not an iron clad no, but it doesn't seem like he's going for it, especially since he's up for re-election in 2016. Faulconer's probably the strongest Republican in California, and he'll probably make a run for statewide office before too long in any case.
In the definite no category for the GOP we have:
• 2010 Senate nominee Carly Fiorina
• Rep. Darrell Issa
• Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
• Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
There's a lot of dust left to settle, and it's quite possible new names from each party will jump in. This is going to be a giant and unpredictable race, and we'll be watching each development here at
Daily Kos Elections.
