Lee kicks off Senate campaign in her bid to replace Feinstein
LOS ANGELES — Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee launched her bid to become California’s next U.S. senator on Tuesday, touting her history as an unwavering champion of liberal causes as she underscored the importance of electing a Black female senator to a chamber that has had none since Kamala Harris resigned in 2021 to become vice president.
Ms. Lee, who is from Oakland, Calif., released a video kicking off her run, which has been expected for weeks. “No one is rolling out the welcome mat, especially for someone like me,” she says in the video, which goes on to detail hardships she has endured during her life. The announcement comes during Black History Month, a deliberate move by Ms. Lee.
Ms. Lee is the third U.S. House member to enter the unpredictable race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has held the seat for three decades.
Though Ms. Feinstein’s seat is seen as a safe Democratic hold because of the deep blue complexion of California’s electorate, Ms. Lee is facing two Golden State titans: Rep. Adam Schiff, who became a darling of Democrats and a cable news fixture as one of the key players in the two impeachment trials of President Donald Trump, and Rep. Katie Porter, a former law professor whose fierce interrogations of Wall Street CEOs and Trump nominees made her a viral sensation and prodigious fundraiser in Democratic circles.
Even before the contest has begun in earnest, many Democratic voters here say that they are conflicted about the choice among three politicians who have earned the admiration of the party faithful. Under California’s primary system, the top two contenders will advance to the general election regardless of party — meaning two Democrats could be pitted against one another in November 2024.
Because of the cost of advertising in California media markets to capture the attention of the state’s nearly 22 million voters, the race is expected to be exorbitantly expensive, and in that regard Ms. Lee starts at a major disadvantage.
Mr. Schiff, who is 62 and has notched the influential endorsement of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, boasts a war chest of nearly $21 million, according to recent campaign finance reports.
Ms. Porter, who is 49, had more than $7.4 million in cash on hand after her hard-fought race to win reelection last year following the decennial redrawing of California’s congressional map.
Ms. Lee, 76, had about $52,000 in available campaign funds, according to the most recent report.
But her Northern California roots could give her a different kind of edge over Mr. Schiff and Ms. Porter, because voters from that region often turn out in higher numbers.
As she prepared to run, Ms. Lee highlighted that there are no Black women serving in the U.S. Senate and there have only been two — Ms. Harris and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, D-Ill. — who have served in the chamber’s nearly 250-year history.