California Senator Dianne Feinstein announced she will not seek reelection in 2024.
Feinstein, who has maintained her Senate seat in the Golden State for 30 years, previously served as Mayor of San Francisco from November 1978 to January 1988.
“I campaigned in 2018 on several priorities for California and the nation: preventing and combating wildfires, mitigating the effects of record-setting drought, responding to the homelessness crisis, and ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care,” Feinstein’s statement read.
“Congress has enacted legislation on all of these topics over the past several years, but more needs to be done — and I will continue these efforts.”
BREAKING: California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announces she will not seek reelection in 2024 but will finish out her term.
Her statement: pic.twitter.com/mpNywul05a
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) February 14, 2023
Feinstein said she remains focused on passing “commonsense legislation” to fight the “epidemic of gun violence, preserving our prisitine lands and promoting economic growth.”
“Especially to position California for what I believe will be the century of the Pacific,” the announcement continued. “And I will use my seniority on the Appropriations Committee to ensure California gets its fair share of funding.”
The California Senator cited previous accomplishments including the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban along with the 2014 CIA torture report.
“From preserving Lake Tahoe and the Mojave Desert to passing the first significant global warming legislation,” she continued. “From protecting student athletes from abuse to protecting consumers from harmful chemicals, and more recently improving our efforts to combat wildfire and drought, we have improved the lives of millions.”
“Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems,” the statement concluded. “That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years.”
“My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them.”
Fellow California representatives Adam Schiff and Katie Porter recently announced campaigns seeking Feinstein’s Senate seat.
“I work for California—not a political party, and certainly not corporate donors,” Porter said. “I refuse money from corporate PACs, federal lobbyists, and executives from Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Wall Street banks. Our campaign is fueled by grassroots support.”
“The threat from so-called leaders, like Mitch McConnell, has too often made the United States Senate the place where rights get revoked, special interests get rewarded, and our democracy gets rigged,” Porter continued in her campaign ad. “Especially in times like these, California needs a warrior in Washington, and that’s exactly why I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024.”
“Today’s Republican party is gutting the middle class. Threatening our democracy,” Schiff said in his campaign announcement.
“I’m running for the U.S. Senate from California because we’re in the fight of our lives to preserve our democracy and to build an economy that works for everyone,” Schiff told FOX 11.
Schiff commented on Feinstein, who had not announced her intention to retire at the time, saying he “wouldn’t be doing this without her blessing.”
