The California Democratic Party leaders endorsed Kevin de Leon for Senate last night in what the Los Angeles Times is calling a “a stinging rebuke of Democratic icon Sen. Dianne Feinstein.”
The state party was reportedly “energized” by the election of Republican President Trump, and the LA Times posits that liberal California lawmakers have soured on Feinstein. The 25-year incumbent Senator’s pragmatism and bipartisanship was once lauded by party leaders, but is now reportedly seen as a handicap in the face of attacks on Democratic priorities – namely, immigration, healthcare, and environmental protections.
De Leon is former state Senate leader from Los Angeles and finished second behind Feinstein by 32 points in the June Primary which saw no Republican candidate in the race. According to the Sacramento Bee , de Leon launched a concentrated campaign to win over members of the state party’s executive board. He was successful as 65 percent of its 330 members awarded him their votes – more than the 60 percent needed to secure the endorsement.
“We have presented Californians with the first real alternative to the worn-out Washington playbook in a quarter-century,” de Leon said in a statement that was issued shortly after the announcement of his endorsement.
Earning the endorsement of so many leaders and activists of the @CA_Dem party isn’t just an honor and a privilege; today’s vote is a clear-eyed rejection of politics as usual in Washington, D.C. https://t.co/KDtec3YDu4
— Kevin de Le?n (@kdeleon) July 15, 2018
Although the endorsement seems to indicate the party itself is ready for a major shift to the left, it may not have a meaningful effect on the upcoming general election. In the primary, 85-year-old Feinstein won handily over de Leon, taking every county and finishing with 44 percent of the overall vote in comparison to de Leon who finished a far second at 12 percent, and only qualified for a November ticket thanks to the state’s “top-two” primary system.
However, the party endorsement does come with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign support, which will now go to de Leon. As of May, Feinstein already had a war chest holding more than $7 million.
Lynne Standard-Nightengale, a member of the Amador County Democratic Central Committee, says she doesn’t think 51-year-old de Leon will win in November, but that she wanted to send a message with her vote.
“I just think we need a younger, progressive person there. The Democratic Party in California has moved to the left, and he personifies those values.”
According to the New York Times , Jeff Millman, Ms. Feinstein’s campaign manager said Saturday night that “a large majority of California Democrats” will vote to re-elect her come November, but the vote for de Leon is still a win for progressive Dems.
