A new UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times poll found that Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) popularity remains underwater with just 35% of respondents approving of her work and 46% disapproving.
Said poll director Mark DiCamillo: “Voters are viewing her much differently now than they were three years ago.”
Richard Blum, a wealthy investor and the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), has indicated to President Biden’s advisers “that he’s interested in being appointed to an ambassadorship, a move that would renew questions about Ms. Feinstein’s political future,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Blum is eyeing a European capital, a posting that could pave the way for the 87-year-old Ms. Feinstein to leave the Senate.”
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) has emerged as the front-runner to succeed Sen. Kamala Harris, the New York Times reports.
However, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appears to be in no rush to make his choice official.
“As speculation grows that Gov. Gavin Newsom is leaning toward California elections chief Alex Padilla to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a crowd of top Democratic donors and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown are launching an aggressive campaign to argue that another woman of color should fill that seat instead,” Politico reports.
Washington Post: “Two Latino politicians have emerged as top contenders for the post to be vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who became the first woman of color to win a U.S. Senate seat here in 2016. A selection process has just begun to balance this state’s peculiar demands of history, geography and race that will shape Newsom’s decision, which may not come until the new year.”
“But the characteristics surrounding this choice, and what political analysts, advisers and others say will be important to Newsom, suggest that at this early stage California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) and Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) are the leading candidates. Among their other attributes is one that analysts and political advisers here say is important to Newsom: Past success in statewide political contests.”
A new PPIC poll in California finds Gavin Newsom (D) with a double-digit lead over John Cox (R) among likely voters in the race for governor, 51% to 39%, although the 24 point lead Newsom had in July has narrowed to 12 points today.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), who is seeking her fifth full term in the US Senate, leads Kevin de León (D) by 11 points, 40% to 29% among likely voters, with 8% undecided.
“Six weeks after winning an overwhelming victory among California primary voters, Senator Dianne Feinstein suffered an embarrassing setback Saturday night as the state Democratic Party officially endorsed her rival for election this November,” the New York Times reports.
“Kevin de León, the Democratic leader in California’s State Senate, won the support of the party leadership despite an effort by Ms. Feinstein to convince the party not to offer an endorsement.”
A new Emerson College poll finds Sen. Dianne Feinstein at 38% with no other candidate breaking double digits, and 32% of voters undecided.
While Feinstein receives about 59% of the Democratic vote, and is in a solid position to win the primary, there is a fatigue factor. When voters were asked if Feinstein, first elected to the Senate in 1992, should be re-elected, or was it time to give someone else a chance, 36% opted to re-elect Feinstein, while 47% said it was time for someone else.
“For anyone wondering about the state of the Republican Party in California these days, consider this: There may be no Republican candidate for governor or United States senator on the state’s ballot this November,” the New York Times reports.
“That dispiriting possibility is beginning to sink in for California Republicans, against the backdrop of a divisive debate among its candidates and leaders on how the embattled party can become competitive again in a state where Ronald Reagan was elected twice as governor and that Richard M. Nixon called home.”
“If Republicans fall short in capturing one of those two November slots next month, which members of both parties say is a strong possibility, it would apparently be the first election where there was no major party candidate for both the Senate and governor races since 1914.”
Former President Barack Obama endorsed Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) bid to fend off a reelection challenge from the Democratic Party’s left flank, calling the California senator “one of America’s most effective champions for progress,” Politico reports.
“The endorsement — a rare intervention from Obama — served as the highest profile rebuke yet of state Sen. Kevin de León’s (D) long-shot effort to unseat Feinstein.”
California U.S. Senate candidate Patrick Little (R) — who last week topped other Republican Senate candidates in a SurveyUSA poll — told Newsweek “that he admires Adolf Hitler, and would prefer to see Jewish Americans deported to Israel.”
“He falsely denied that the genocide of Jews took place during World War II and incorrectly suggested that Germany was not an aggressor during that conflict.”
“Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer is endorsing state Sen. Kevin de León (D) in his insurgent challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and did not rule out funding an outside effort to boost De León’s chances,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The California Democratic Party decided not to endorse in the U.S. Senate contest on Saturday, an embarrassing rebuke of veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA),” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate for a quarter-century, is facing an insurgent bid by fellow Democrat, state Senate leader Kevin de León. Though De León did not get the endorsement, his success in blocking Feinstein from receiving it shows that his calls for generational change and a more aggressively liberal path have resonated with some of the party’s most passionate activists.”
A new Public Policy Institute of California poll in California finds Gavin Newsom (D) and Antonio Villaraigosa (D) in a close race among likely voters in the gubernatorial primary, 23% to 21%, with 24% undecided. Fewer would vote for Democrat John Chiang (9%), Republican Travis Allen (8%), Republican John Cox (7%), Democrat Delaine Eastin (4%), or Republican Doug Ose (3%).
Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) continues to lead Kevin de León (D) in a U.S. Senate primary, 46% to 17%.
California state Senate president Kevin de León (D) intends to enter California’s 2018 Senate race against Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), CNN reports.
“De León has begun calling labor leaders and elected officials to inform them of his plans and is expected to soon announce his campaign against Feinstein, a giant of California Democratic politics who has held the office since 1992.”
For members: California’s Primary System Helps Feinstein
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced that she will run for reelection in 2018, The Hill reports.
Said Feinstein: “I am running for reelection to the Senate. Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare. I’m all in!”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) says she is “close” to announcing a reelection campaign — the 84-year-old’s firmest suggestion yet that she will seek a fifth full term in the Senate, Politico reports.
Said Feinstein: “I’m ready for a good fight.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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