Longtime senator Dianne Feinstein reacts to Katie Porter’s newly announced California Senate bid
Katie Porter’s campaign announcement comes despite the fact Dianne Feinstein has not announced whether she will seek re-election
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Senator Dianne Feinstein brushed off progressive Democratic Representative Katie Porter’s announcement that she will run for Senate in California.
Ms Porter made the announcement via a video on social media on Tuesday.
“In times like these, California needs a warrior in Washington,” she said. “I don’t do Congress the way others often do. I use whatever powers I have to speak hard truths to the powers that be.”
Her announcement comes despite the fact that Ms Feinstein, the state’s long-serving Senator, has not announced whether she will seek another term in 2024, when she will face re-election. The incumbent told The San Francisco Chronicle that Ms Porter’s announcement will not affect her decision.
“Everyone is of course welcome to throw their hat in the ring, and I will make an announcement concerning my plans for 2024 at the appropriate time,” she said. “Right now I’m focused on ensuring California has all the resources it needs to cope with the devastating storms slamming the state and leaving more than a dozen dead.”
But at age 89, Ms Feinstein is not expected to seek another term as Senator. She passed up the chance to be Senate President Pro Tempore, making Senator Patty Murray of Washington the top-ranking official in the Senate.
Ms Porter is a former law school professor who studied under Senator Elizabeth Warren when Ms Warren was a professor at Harvard Law School. Like Ms Warren, she has made a name for herself in the House of Representatives for her aggressive questioning of business executives and Trump administration officials, often while using a whiteboard to break down statistics.
Those questionings have often gone viral on social media. Most recently, during the convoluted vote for speaker, Ms Porter was seen reading a book entitled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson.
She first won a seat in 2018 when she beat Republican Representative Mimi Walters in a district that encompasses the suburbs of Orange County. Ms Porter won the seat again in 2020 but underformed President Joe Biden’s victory in the district. She narrowly won re-election by 3.4 percentage points in November despite aggressive spending by Republicans to flip the seat.
Ms Porter is likely to face a contested race regardless of whether Ms Feinstein seeks another term. Representatives Adam Schiff, Ro Khanna and Barbara Lee have all hinted the idea of running for Senate. Similarly, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has been floated as a potential Senate candidate.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments