California’s US Senate race is unfolding at a furious pace, with candidates reporting seven-figure fundraising and holding competitive rallies and campaign events a year ahead of the 2024 primary election.
The fight for the safe Democratic seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who at 89 is the oldest member CongressWhat is shaping up to be a marquee match-up between the nationally known rivals has the potential to become one of the costliest Senate races in the country next year.
On Saturday, Democratic US Rep. Adam Schiffwho rose to prominence as the lead prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, gathered hundreds of supporters in the Union Hall parking lot for a rally in his hometown of Burbank, Californiawhere he pleaded with the cheering crowd, “Let’s win this thing.”
Schiff, who announced his candidacy last month, said he was running for Senate after two decades in Congress “to build an economy that works for everyone, a democracy that will last and A planet that won’t melt beneath our feet.” ,
The day before, Democratic US Rep. Katie Porter brought her Senate campaign to Los Angeles, where she met with local leaders to discuss pollution in low-income neighborhoods. She said such areas in Washington and Sacramento are often overlooked, where residents’ complaints about unhygienic conditions go unheard.
Porter, a leader in the progressive wing of Congress, built a reputation for tough questioning of CEOs and other witnesses in congressional hearings—often using a whiteboard to break down information.
Other possible contenders for the seat include Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. If she runs and is elected, Lee will be the only black woman in the Senate.
Feinstein has not yet said whether she will seek a seventh term. In recent years, questions have arisen about its cognitive health and memory, although it has defended its effectiveness. However, her reticence about her future has created strange public momentum—the race to replace her is rapidly shaping up, even as the senator remains unclear about her intentions.
Schiff’s rally, conducted on a nippy, mostly early morning, marked the beginning of a two-week statewide tour that included San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno and San Francisco.
He was joined by his wife Eve, one of their two children, Alexa, and David McMillan, whom the Congressman mentored as a youth and considers part of his family.
After recounting his career as a federal prosecutor, state legislator and member of Congress, Schiff made it clear that he would be moving his campaign to his role as impeachment manager and Trump’s main opponent in Congress. He has been a frequent target of conservatives — especially Trump — since the then-GOP-led House Intelligence Committee launched an investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election.
He mentioned “democracy” more than half a dozen times in the speech. He is selling T-shirts and coffee mugs with the slogan “Democracy Matters” on his campaign website. He called Trump, who has announced his 2024 campaign for the presidency, “a democrat bent on destroying our democracy.”
“We investigated Trump. We impeached him. We held him accountable and then we defeated him at the ballot box,” Schiff said to cheers. “And we will defeat him again, if the GOP is foolish enough to nominate him. He would never see the inside of the Oval Office, ever again.
Trump was accused in December 2019 of abusing presidential power to investigate rival Joe Biden and obstructing a congressional investigation. The Republican-led Senate acquitted Trump of both charges. In 2021, he became the first president in US history to be impeached twice, this time for inciting the January 6 rebellion at the US Capitol after losing the 2020 election. He was again acquitted by the Senate.
Schiff’s other core issues include fighting climate change and improving the economy.
“Many people are working multiple jobs but can’t pay rent, afford groceries or pay for life-saving medicine,” he said. “Too many children are growing up in poverty and hunger.”
Schiff and Porter, both prolific small-dollar fundraisers, are already feuding over campaign dollars and advertising. Former San Francisco Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is endorsing Schiff, prompting Feinstein to retire, and Porter is supported by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Democrats are expected to dominate the contest in the famously liberal state — a Republican hasn’t won a statewide race in California since 2006, and the last two Senate elections only had Democrats on the November ballot.