Barbara Lee Announces Bid For Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Seat

Daniel ChaitinFebruary 21, 2023

Rep. Barbara Lee (D. CA) announced Tuesday that she will run for the seat currently held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 2024

After Katie Porter and Rep. Adam Schiff, two of her Democratic House colleagues declared their candidacy, the congresswoman from Alameda County, who represents a district that includes cities such as Oakland, has entered the fray.

“Today I am proud to announce my candidacy for U.S. Senate. I’ve never backed down from doing what’s right. And I never will,” Lee made the comment in a Tweet “Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who has delivered real change.”

Lee shared a video announcement where she describes her struggles with racism, domestic violence and homelessness.

Today, I am proud to announce that my candidacy for the U.S. Senate. I have never been afraid to do what is right. I will never stop doing what’s right. Californians deserve a strong and progressive leader who can bring about real change.#BarbaraLeeSpeaksForMe pic.twitter.com/sEjmABg2BS

— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLeeForCA) February 21, 2023

The congresswoman drives home the point that she will not back down from challenges by hearkening back to her being the sole member of Congress to vote against an authorization of war in Afghanistan after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Key issues raised by Lee include raising up the middle class, ending poverty, tackling the “climate crisis,” and fighting “MAGA extremists” on abortion rights and democracy.

Feinstein announced this month she would not seek re-election in 2024. At the age of 89, Feinstein is the Senate’s oldest current member. Lee is 76, compared to 62-year-old Schiff and 49-year-old Porter.

But Feinstein has been a member of the upper chamber since 1994, underscoring how rare it has been for there to be an open Senate seat in California. The state’s other U.S. senator, Alex Padilla, took on the role after his predecessor Kamala Harris was elected vice president.

Schiff already has the endorsement of one high-profile California politician: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Lee appeared to shrug off the move. “Speaker Pelosi has a right to make her own decisions about who she endorses,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle.