Politics
Rep. Barbara Lee tells colleagues she plans to run for Feinstein’s Senate seat in 2024
Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland, a seasoned progressive with greater than three a long time immersed in California politics, on Wednesday instructed congressional colleagues she plans to run for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat in 2024.
Lee introduced her intentions throughout a gathering of the Congressional Black Caucus, receiving a standing ovation, however has not formally confirmed she is operating or shaped an official Senate committee to begin elevating cash in a race anticipated to be each expensive and intensely aggressive.
Lee’s personal disclosure comes only a day after Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) launched her marketing campaign to interchange Feinstein, 89, who has but to reveal whether or not she intends to retire on the finish of her time period. As one of the crucial coveted posts in California politics, Feinstein’s Senate seat is extensively anticipated to spur curiosity from a number of the state’s most bold and distinguished elected leaders.
Lee’s announcement was confirmed by a supply near the congresswoman who requested to not be recognized as a result of they weren’t approved to talk on her political plans. The supply cautioned that the congresswoman didn’t announce a Senate marketing campaign — solely her intention to run. The information was first reported by Politico.
First elected to Congress in 1998 after practically a decade within the California Legislature, Lee is a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and former co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She sought to affix Home Democratic management thrice within the final decade with out success.
Lee forged the lone “no” vote towards the authorization of use of army pressure after the Sept. 11 assaults. Lee additionally has been a powerful advocate for increasing entry to abortion by repealing what is named the Hyde Modification, which prohibits federal funds from getting used to pay for abortion besides when crucial to avoid wasting a girl’s life or in circumstances of rape or incest.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), head of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, praised Lee as a member of Congress who “is aware of the best way to ship and get issues finished” and who possesses a agency grasp of how Washington works, expertise he stated would serve her properly within the Senate.
“Her repute is that she’s the fighter for the little man. She’s a voice for the unvoiced, and he or she’s fearless,” Meeks stated. “They take a look at her as an individual who will do as she believes however but nonetheless is aware of the best way to work throughout the strains to assist her folks.”
Meeks stated the Congressional Black Caucus PAC would “completely” help her bid for the Senate.
Different potential Senate candidates from California’s congressional delegation embody Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) and Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin).
Schiff backed off a possible management run within the Home after former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) introduced she was stepping down, paving the best way for Hakeem Jeffries of New York to turn out to be the highest Democrat. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) additionally promised to take away Schiff from the Home Intelligence Committee, a panel he chaired earlier than Republicans took over the chamber this month.
Khanna, who has been inspired by allies of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to run for president, has stated he’ll determine on a Senate run within the subsequent few months.
Though Lee’s liberal monitor report would attraction to a section of California voters, she does face some substantial head winds. At 76 years outdated, Lee might encounter resistance from voters if they’re searching for generational change in Washington, stated Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego.
“If the argument for abandoning one of the crucial distinguished, formidable and cherished California politicians in Dianne Feinstein is solely her age, then I feel folks will probably be searching for a a lot youthful substitute,” Kousser stated.
Lee additionally may wrestle to win over reasonable Californians, a pivotal vote in a state with the top-two main system that may favor politicians who hew extra towards the center.
“Barbara Lee has a extra progressive profile than” different Democrats anticipated to vie for the seat, stated Kim Nalder, a political science professor at Sacramento State. “It’s a bonus for a subset of Californians however not essentially for the voters you would want in a top-two system through which you’re prone to have two Democrats within the basic election in that race.”
Moreover, Lee doesn’t have the fundraising historical past of different Democrats within the race or who’re weighing a run. In a state with a number of the most costly media markets within the nation, the flexibility to lift tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} will probably be important.
“It makes an enormous distinction. We’re not Wyoming, the place you may virtually knock on each door to win a Senate race,” Nalder stated. “In California, you completely want a significant media marketing campaign and floor sport. It’s insane how a lot cash you want in California.”
Lee ended her most up-to-date reelection marketing campaign with lower than $55,000 money available, based on federal marketing campaign filings. Khanna has greater than $5 million within the financial institution, whereas Porter launched her Senate bid with practically $8 million in her marketing campaign account and Schiff has greater than $20 million.
Porter, one of the crucial prodigious fundraisers in Congress, additionally raised $1.3 million on-line for the first within the first 24 hours after her launch, based on her marketing campaign.
Contemporary off a aggressive reelection to her Orange County district, Porter introduced a Senate bid Tuesday morning, turning into the primary main candidate to enter the sector. However she drew criticism from potential rivals for her timing, which got here as Californians are grappling with lethal winter storms which have killed at the very least 18 folks.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ election in 2020 led to her Senate seat turning into vacant and the higher chamber with no single Black girl. Newsom appointed former California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to interchange Harris. Padilla, the primary Latino to symbolize the state within the Senate, in November was elected to a full six-year Senate time period.
Newsom has stated he would appoint a Black girl to interchange Feinstein if she had been to vacate her seat early, and Lee was extensively seen as a high contender for an appointment. However Feinstein has repeatedly stated she intends to serve her full time period, which expires in early 2025.
Feinstein, first elected in a 1992 particular election, has not stated whether or not she intends to hunt reelection or retire. She instructed The Instances final month that she would in all probability announce her intentions by this spring.
The Senate race guarantees to have a considerable influence on California’s 2024 congressional campaigns. Porter narrowly received her Orange County district, and Republicans had already recognized it as one they hope to win subsequent 12 months. Republican Scott Baugh, who misplaced to Porter in November, stated on social media that he plans to try again next year. Lee, Schiff and Khanna symbolize secure Democratic districts, however the vacancies may set off some fierce intraparty competitors.
Politics
Mike Kennedy advances past crowded GOP primary to secure nomination for open Utah House seat
Mike Kennedy on Tuesday won the Republican nomination for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District to replace outgoing Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, becoming the immediate favorite to win the seat in November.
Kennedy beat fellow Republicans JR Bird, John Dougall, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay in a packed primary pool for the district. Curtis is vacating his seat to run for U.S. Senate to replace outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney.
Kennedy, a state senator, had won the party’s nomination for the seat in April but faced challenges from other candidates who gathered signatures to be on the ballot. Peay had won the endorsement of Romney, who is also Peay’s wife’s uncle. Kennedy had won the endorsement of Sen. Mike Lee, who said he was needed to “fight against the Uniparty and help get this country back on track.”
‘SQUAD’ MEMBER FACES OUSTER FROM CONGRESS AS NEW YORK, COLORADO AND UTAH HOLD PRIMARIES ON TUESDAY
From left, JR Bird, John Dougall, Mike Kennedy, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay, candidates in the Republican primary for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, take part in a debate at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on June 12, 2024. (Spenser Heaps/Deseret News via AP/Pool)
Bird, a mayor, emphasized his experience of running a small town as well as the importance of the energy sector and agriculture, according to the Deseret News.
Dougall, the state auditor, had run as an anti-MAGA candidate and had slammed some GOP legislation, including what he saw as an overly aggressive bill that tasks him with enforcing a ban on transgender-identifying individuals using restrooms that are inconsistent with their sex.
WATCH: THIS HOUSE PRIMARY IS MOST EXPENSIVE IN CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY
He has also been deeply critical of former President Trump. On Tuesday on X, he also questioned the “cavalier manner” of any official who swears to uphold the Constitution “then endorses Trump following January 6th.” He has advertised himself as “mainstream, not MAGA.”
At a debate this month, candidates split on the question of military funding to Ukraine as well as whether the federal government should explicitly ban abortion. Peay, Dougall and Case Lawrence – a trampoline park entrepreneur – had called on Congress to keep sending weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off the ongoing Russian invasion.
Bird and Kennedy disagreed, arguing that it was not beneficial to the U.S. to keep funding the Ukrainians, with the two calling for stronger sanctions and the seizure of Russian assets.
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Sen. Mitt Romney (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Kennedy will go on to face Democrat Glenn Wright in the November election, but the Republican is favored to win comfortably in a district that has voted Republican since 1997.
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Elsewhere in the state, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, a major GOP Trump critic, held off a primary challenge from Phil Lyman, another 2020 election denier who easily won the state party convention.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
California news publishers and Big Tech companies appear to be inching toward compromise on a controversial bill that would require Google and huge social media platforms to pay news outlets for the articles they distribute.
After stalling last year, Assembly Bill 886 cleared a critical hurdle Tuesday when it passed the state Senate Judiciary Committee. Several lawmakers described the legislation as a work in progress aimed at solving a critical problem: The news business is shrinking as technology changes the way people consume information.
“I do believe the marketplace is the best mechanism to regulate industry,” Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Orange), the committee chairman, said during a hearing on the bill.
However, he said, the demise of journalism harms democracy: “Thus, we have an obligation to find a way to support reasonable, credible journalism.”
The legislation, known as the “California Journalism Preservation Act,” would require digital platforms to pay news outlets a fee when they sell advertising alongside news content. It calls for creating a fund that the tech firms pay into, with the money being distributed to news outlets based on the number of journalists they employ. Publishers would have to use 70% of the money they receive to pay journalists in California.
Umberg noted that the bill does not specify an amount for the fund. He said it would be “a very elegant solution” for the parties involved to agree on what amount that should be.
Sen. Henry Stern (D-Calabasas) described talks as being “closer and closer to the place where we could actually land some kind of deal.”
In Canada, Google is paying $74 million annually into a fund for the news industry under a law similar to the one proposed in California.
Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s vice president of global news partnerships, testified against the California proposal during a hearing in which news executives from across the state lined up to express support for the bill, while tech industry lobbyists lined up in opposition. The bill is sponsored by the California News Publishers Assn., of which the Los Angeles Times is a member.
“The bill would … break the fundamental and foundational principles of the open internet, forcing platforms to pay publishers for sending valuable free traffic to them,” Zaidi said.
“It puts the full burden of support on one or two companies, while shielding many other large platforms who also link to news from California publishers.”
He said Google had shared a proposal for a different way to support journalism “through targeted programs” that would be funded by more companies than just the very largest platforms. The current version of the bill would apply only to Google and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook.
“We hope this can serve as a basis for a workable path forward together,” Zaidi said. “We remain committed to being here and constructively working towards an outcome.”
The bill’s author, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), said she is “aggressively trying to engage” with companies that oppose the bill in the hopes that the sparring sides can reach an agreement that will allow the news industry to thrive.
“At the end of the day, I want the best solution to the problem,” Wicks said.
She closed the hearing by talking about the role journalism has played in exposing problems that lawmakers wind up addressing in the Capitol, such as crafting new laws to extend the statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits after The Times’ investigation revealed a pattern of allegations against former USC gynecologist George Tyndall.
The bill now advances to the Senate Appropriations Committee. It will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom if it clears both houses of the Legislature by Aug. 31.
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FACE OFF: Don’t miss the Fox News Simulcast of the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. Stay in the know for more updates here.
What’s happening…
-Calls for Biden to fire official for past anti-Israel tweets
-Trump urges drug test for Biden
-Whistleblower who exposed NPR bias finds new job
What can he say?
Judge Juan Merchan has partially lifted the gag order he imposed against former President Trump – weeks after the jury found him guilty on all counts.
Trump and his legal team have been fighting the gag order since it was imposed upon him at the start of the trial, but had ramped up their efforts when it concluded last month. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee’s legal team had argued the gag order should be lifted before the June 27 presidential debate.
Merchan’s gag order barred Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case – other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.
Merchan on Tuesday partially lifted the gag order because the trial has concluded.
Trump is now able to speak about protected witnesses and jurors.
Trump is still blocked from commenting about individual prosecutors, court staff and their family members. That portion of the gag order will remain in effect until Trump’s sentencing on July 11.
Judge Juan Merchan imposed over Donald Trump (AP)
White House
‘JUST HORRIFYING’: Watchdog group calls for Biden to fire WH official for past anti-Israel tweets …Read more
Capitol Hill
‘OBSCENE’: House GOP lawmaker rips State Dept ahead of vote on U.S. dollars going to Taliban …Read more
U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks to the crowd while he campaigns in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., June 22, 2024. REUTERS/Joy Malone (REUTERS/Joy Malone)
Tales from the Campaign Trail
‘THEATER OF CONFLICT’: Democrat challenger slams Bowman tirade, says profanity-laced rally jeopardizes party ‘unity’ …Read more
JUST SAY ‘NO’: Trump urges drug test for Biden, says he’ll do same screening …Read more
EPIC CLASH: How to watch the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast on the Fox News Channel …Read more
‘SUGARCOATING’ CONTROVERSY: California city keeps charged ballot language for non-citizen voting measure …Read more
CALL TO THE BULLPEN: Obama again serving as Joe’s closer ahead of 2024 Trump rematch …Read more
Trials and Tribulations
DAY 3: US v Trump: The afternoon public hearing ended with no decision from Judge Cannon Read more
Across America
NO ABORTIONS FOR MINORS: Tennessee sued over law banning adults from helping minors get abortions without parental consent …Read more
MOVING ON: Whistleblower finds new gig after exposing alleged liberal bias at NPR …Read more
NEW YORK PAYS PRICE FOR NAIVETY: Cuomo scorches Dems for migrant crisis: ‘We’re finding out, 200,000 people later, you needed a plan’ …Read more
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: This blue city that ‘Defund Police’ supporters call home has over 1,000 unsolved homicides …Read more
KENYAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: Kenyan police depart for Haiti to tackle rampant gang violence …Read more
ALL MUST SERVE: Israel’s Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox men must serve in military in unanimous decision …Read more
HUGE POPULATION: Houston area, an immigration hot spot, reeling from murder of Jocelyn Nungaray …Read more
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