Succeed Dianne Feinstein

Barbara Lee enters increasingly interesting race to succeed Dianne Feinstein

Eric Ting

A day after California Rep. Katie Porter announced a 2024 bid for the Senate seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the race saw another entrant: Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland.

Lee reportedly announced her intentions to colleagues at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting, according to Politico's Nicholas Wu. The Wednesday announcement is not a formal campaign launch but signals that the race to succeed Feinstein is going to be very interesting.

The 89-year-old Feinstein has yet to say publicly whether she will retire or seek another term, but the indecision hasn't stopped lawmakers from jumping in. In addition to Porter and Lee, Rep. Adam Schiff has signaled a desire to enter the race. After the Porter announcement, someone in Schiff's orbit told NBC News, “We’re not playing politics in the middle of a natural disaster that has left people dead.”

Porter and Lee are typically considered to be more aligned with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, while Schiff, the former chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, is considered to be more aligned with the establishment wing and party leadership. If you're seeking imperfect parallels to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Schiff is Joe Biden, Katie Porter is Elizabeth Warren, and Barbara Lee is Bernie Sanders. Porter has adopted Warren's "progressive capitalism" branding, while Lee, the lone member of Congress to vote against the authorization of military force in Afghanistan 20 years ago, could argue she has more ideological purity than Porter.

Given these ideological differences, Schiff's camp already sniping at Porter and the stakes involved (whoever wins this seat will get to sit in it however long they want to given California's heavily Democratic partisan lean), it's easy to the see race turning contentious. It's probably a safe bet that Lee's age's — she'll be 78 in November 2024 — will come up when candidates discuss who should succeed a senator whose age and reportedly deteriorating mental facilities are constantly the subject of news stories.

Under California's top two primary rules, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the general election. How Porter, Lee and Schiff — as well as any other potential entrants — split the Democratic electorate will be fascinating to watch.