Feinstein keeps everyone guessing

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she’ll announce this spring whether she will seek reelection to a seventh term even as fellow California Democrats announce plans to compete for the seat.

“You’ll be hearing, soon,” Feinstein told Bloomberg News on Monday night. “In the spring sometime. Not in the winter. I don’t announce in the winter.”

Feinstein, 89, is the Senate’s longest-serving Democrat and its oldest member. Her health has been an issue on Capitol Hill and in her home state after the San Francisco Chronicle reported last year that some colleagues were expressing concern about memory lapses and her ability to perform duties.

She has the seniority to serve this session of Congress as the Senate’s president pro tempore, a job that is third in line for the presidency. But she passed on it, and in January Sen. Patty Murray of Washington rose into the prestigious post. In 2020, she stepped aside as top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee after she was criticized by progressives over her handling of Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings just weeks before the presidential election.

Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff have already announced plans to run for the Senate seat, while Rep. Barbara Lee has informed the Congressional Black Caucus of her plans to run but hasn’t announced publicly.

Rep. Ro Khanna has also expressed an interest in the seat, but told Bloomberg News he wants to see whether Lee, a fellow progressive, runs.

The Democrats will be the candidates to watch, since the all-party primary system makes it possible for only members of the majority party to advance to the general election.