With Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) retiring from the Senate after a 30-plus year run in the chamber, a number of high-profile House Democrats have already jumped into the race to replace the senator in 2024.
The primary field is set to pit two progressives, Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), against an establishment favorite in Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
The Hill’s Hanna Trudo has a rundown of how the early battle between progressives is shaping up, and here are some of the key dynamics in the race:
The Sanders-Warren split amongst progressives playing out in the primary
While progressive Democrats see eye-to-eye on many policy issues, one of the splitting points between lawmakers and voters has been their support of either Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) The two figures, largely considered the standard-bearers for the progressive movement, clashed in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, with many left wingers picking sides.
Porter quickly picked up the endorsement of Warren when she announced her Senate campaign. Sanders has remained mum, but Lee has been a close ally of the Vermont senator. Lee also picked up the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a Sanders ally who co-chaired his presidential campaign and was considering a Senate bid of his own. Khanna said he was signed on to co-chair Lee’s Senate campaign.
Progressives vs. an establishment figure
While Porter and Lee will sift through the differences in the progressive wing of the party, there looms Schiff – a Democrat aligned more closely with the party establishment and has picked up the endorsement of some heavy hitters.
Schiff also boasts national name recognition from his clashes with former President Trump and his time on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attacks.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Schiff in the Senate bid, and he is expected to attract support from more establishment players. So while the progressives angle for leverage over one other to the left of the party, Schiff will attempt to solidify the more moderate and centrist vote in the primary.
What do California Democrats want?
Since Democrats are not at risk of losing the California Senate seat to a Republican, the primary presents a rare opportunity for the party to battle out policy positions in depth against each other. Operatives in the state see it as an opportunity for the party to have a full fledged debate over what Democrats in California want out of a senator and which policy positions they favor. Instead of playing out primaries restricted to certain districts, progressives want to elevate the debate to a statewide level.
The intraparty state battle will come as President Biden is expected to be the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. That means there will be limited opportunities for progressives to push Biden publicly on the party’s agenda without presidential debates and other presidential primary events.
