Democratic darlings Schiff and Porter launch ugly and costly fight for California Senate seat

The race for the coveted California Senate seat has begun and is shaping up to be a costly and ugly battle between two of the House chamber’s top political fundraisers.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, who announced his candidacy for the Senate seat on Thursday, joins Rep. Katie Porter, D-California, in a competitive race for the seat held by Senator Diane Feinstein, 89, who is for re-election in 2024. Feinstein has yet to announce his re-election intentions.

Porter, a progressive rising star and alumnus of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, has raised $25 million in political donations in the past cycle, making her the second highest earning House member behind the Speaker of the House. , Kevin McCarthy. Porter’s fundraising total even beat that of his boss, Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House, a renowned fundraiser in her own right.

Schiff was the fourth-highest-ranking House member to be re-elected last year, earning just over $23 million from 2021 through November 2022.

REP. CALIFORNIA DEMOCRAT. ADAM SCHIFF RUNNING FOR UNITED STATES SENATE SEAT HELD BY FEINSTEIN

Despite attempts to position herself as a progressive “warrior,” Porter and her political ambitions may be hampered by accusations of racial slurs and the promotion of a toxic work culture.

A former California Democrat staffer alleged the congresswoman made rude and racist comments to staff and said she had “riddened people for reporting sexual harassment”. The charges came to light in December, but the news was mostly ignored by major news outlets.

Schiff, a leading figure in the impeachment inquiries into former President Donald Trump, is facing his own share of backlash within the party. A progressive group attacked the congressman for his record on Trump just hours after Schiff announced his candidacy for the US Senate.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the House impeachment officer in the Senate impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump.
(Drew Angerer/Brandon Bell)

“Adam Schiff plays Trump’s antagonist on TV, but a recent book details how he blocked and undermined leaders trying to hold Trump accountable to Congress. And he never challenges corporations or the establishment. Democrat,” Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), said in a statement Thursday.

SCHIFF HIT WITH ETHICS COMPLAINT DAY IN SENATE CAMPAIGN FOR USE OF TRUMP DEMUTATION VIDEO

Soon after, an ethics watchdog group asked the Congressional Office of Ethics (OCE) to investigate Schiff for using footage from the Senate floor in his campaign announcement video. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) said the California progressive had “misused official resources for political purposes,” according to its complaint filed Friday.

California Congresswoman Barbara Lee76, said she also intended to run for Feinstein’s seat, but did not make an official announcement.

Some have also speculated that Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, representing California’s Silicon Valley, might also throw his hat in the ring for Feinstein’s seat.

TOU

California uses a so-called jungle primary system in which the top two primary candidates qualify for the general election, regardless of party, making a Democrat vs. Democrat showdown in the 2024 general election highly possible.

TOU’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.