Feinstein, de León chat, er, debate
Low-key encounter has more common ground — environmental policy, gun control — than sparks
SAN FRANCISCO >> Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her challenger, state Sen. Kevin de León, met for their first and likely only debate Wednesday — a subdued encounter that felt more like a polite conversation than combat between rivals.
De León tried to paint a contrast, critiquing the “status quo” in Washington and suggesting Feinstein hadn’t been a strong enough bulwark against the Trump administration. But he avoided aggressively challenging the five-term incumbent for most of the hourlong discussion, as the two found themselves agreeing on issues from environmental policy to gun control.
Feinstein never mentioned her opponent’s record, spending her time instead discussing the bills she introduced in Congress and addressing de León as “Kevin” as she emphasized her experience.
The forum was hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California less than three weeks before Election Day. It was the first time in 18 years that Feinstein faced one of her reelection opponents in a one-on-one debate.
Similar to last week’s governor’s debate between Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox, the face-off — which took place during a Wednesday workday and wasn’t televised live — didn’t appear likely to command a huge audience or swing the political needle.
De León argued that California needed a stronger fighter to stand up to a president who “makes Richard Nixon look like a choirboy” and criticized Democrats in Congress for not doing enough to block Trump’s agenda.
“That lack of courage, always backpedaling every single time, is not the type of leadership we need today in the country,” de León said near the end of the debate. “We need new leadership that’s not on the sidelines, but on the frontlines.”
But Feinstein stressed that Democrats couldn’t stop the president as long as they were in the minority in Congress.
“It’s like hitting your head against a concrete wall,” Feinstein said. “You can march, you can filibuster, you can talk all night — it doesn’t change anything.” Democrats need to win elections and retake the majority in Congress to enact real change, she said.
The two candidates agreed that Congress should pass immigration reform, do more to protect the environment and implement stricter gun control. The contrasts also were muted even on fiery issues such as the confirmation of Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. De León had previously accused Feinstein of mishandling a letter from Palo Alto professor Christine Blasey Ford containing accusations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh, but he didn’t bring up that line of attack on Wednesday.
Both supported reopening an investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh if Democrats retake Congress.
On one of the few policy issues on which they diverged, de León argued that the U.S. should adopt “Medicare for All” universal health care, while Feinstein suggested other more gradual measures such as a public option to decrease the number of uninsured Americans.
De León also attacked Feinstein for her vote for the Iraq War in 2003, arguing that that decision led to chaos that embroiled the Middle East for a generation.
Feinstein is a favorite for re-election; she has led every poll of the race, with the latest PPIC survey last month putting her at 40 percent and de León at 29 percent among likely voters.
She also has a wide advantage in fundraising. Federal Election Commission reports released this week showed that she raised just over $1 million in the three months from July through September and ended the quarter with more than $4 million in the bank. That’s far above de León, who raised about $254,000 over the same time period and had just $309,000 on hand.
Feinstein, who served as the mayor of San Francisco before moving to the Senate in 1992, has built her political brand over the years in part on her ability to work across the aisle and be a moderating voice of reason. De León, who represents Los Angeles and led the state Senate for 3 ½ years, was instrumental in pushing a variety of liberal policies, from a mandate for 100 percent renewable energy in California’s electricity grid to an unsuccessful attempt to implement a single-payer health care system in the state.
During the debate, de León focused on the measures he had backed, arguing that “We have to export California values to Washington and not the other way around.”
Since de León jumped into the race last fall, Feinstein has moved to the left repeatedly on issues from the legalization of cannabis to opposing the death penalty and also worked to present a sharper line on the Trump administration.
The de León camp had pushed for a more highprofile, prime-time debate, putting a running counter of the days since Feinstein last debated an election opponent (Silicon Valley congressman Tom Campbell in 2000) at the bottom of all of its news releases.
Amid the second Democrat-vs.-Democrat Senate contest in as many election cycles, many Republicans plan to sit out the race completely; just over half of GOP likely voters and a fourth of independents told PPIC they would leave their Senate ballot blank. Feinstein is clearly the more moderate choice, yet many GOP voters are incensed over what they consider her attempt to derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation and could be inspired to send Feinstein a message by backing her rival.
After the debate, Feinstein told reporters that she could appeal to independents and Republicans because of her record and because she was “near the center of the political spectrum.” De León argued that his message would resonate with voters fed up with Washington, no matter their party or who they backed for president.