“In 2024, Californians will be asked to vote for a new U.S. Senator. Then they’ll be asked to vote again. And then again. And then again,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Voters will see the Senate election twice on the March primary ballot: the regularly scheduled election for the six-year Senate term that begins in 2025, and a special election to select a replacement to serve out the remainder of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term, which ends in January. In November, voters will be asked to choose between the top two candidates in both races.”

“The quadruple ballot could introduce a note of chaos into the competitive Senate primary, which already has a crowded field of candidates.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has been endorsed by the majority of House Democrats representing California, in the highly competitive race to fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), The Hill reports.

A new UC Berkeley Institute poll in California finds Katie Porter (D) leading the Senate field with 17%, followed by Adam Schiff (D) at 16%, Steve Garvey (R) at 10% and Barbara Lee (D) at 9%.

“Rep. Barbara Lee is calling out two of her fellow Democratic California Senate hopefuls — Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter — over the House vote to expel embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY),” The Hill reports. 

Said Lee: “George Santos lied about everything—from 9/11 and the Holocaust to his own name. He defrauded voters, stole money, and faces criminal charges in two countries. I voted to expel him from Congress today.”

She added that Porter “voted to save him” and Schiff “wasn’t even there.”

“Laphonza Butler, who was appointed 18 days ago to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Dianne Feinstein’s death, said on Thursday that she would not run for the office next year, clearing the way for a truly open race in California that features three Democratic congressional members and a former Major League Baseball star,” the New York Times reports.

“Los Angeles newscaster Christina Pascucci announced Wednesday morning that she is running for the U.S. Senate vacancy created by the death of Dianne Feinstein,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The 38-year-old Democrat is the latest entrant to join an increasingly crowded field for California’s 2024 Senate contest.”

Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-CA) Senate bid raised $3.4 million in the third quarter, The Messenger reports.

That’s barely half of Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) total. He ended the quarter with $20 million more on hand than her.

“After nearly two decades of statewide Republican candidates being rejected by California’s left-leaning electorate, former Dodger All-Star Steve Garvey hopes to drag the GOP back toward political relevance,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Garvey announced Tuesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Dianne Feinstein, a gambit by a political newcomer banking on his baseball fame and affable demeanor to overcome the long odds Republicans face in this solidly Democratic state. At the very least, Garvey offers GOP voters a dash of celebrity excitement and his candidacy may raise the stakes for the top-shelf Democratic candidates.”

“The first step for the candidates running in next year’s California Senate race is to quietly try to spook newly appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler into not running at all,” CNN reports.

“Advisers to the campaigns of Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff all say that they are giving Butler time and space to decide. They each issued statements praising her – albeit gradually.”

“But while they briefly paused public politicking until after the Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s funeral on Thursday – with Lee and Schiff flying there on Air Force 2 – they spent even this past week preparing to ramp up new endorsements and outreach that they hope will convince Butler there is not enough time to mount a credible campaign, and that she could risk being known now for her historic appointment to serve the remainder of the late senator’s term through January 2025 to being known for coming in third, fourth or even fifth in a race that has its first round on March 5.”

“Rep. Adam Schiff has solidified himself as a fundraising powerhouse, hauling in $6.4 million in the third fundraising quarter of 2023 spanning July through the end of September as the former House Intelligence Chair makes his bid for the Senate,” The Messenger reports.

“The campaign announced that they entered October with over $32 million cash on hand and that 95% of donations were under $100. The average donation was $32.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointee to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat will be free to run for a full term in 2024, and there will be no precondition that this is a temporary replacement, Punchbowl News reports.

Senate Democratic leadership expects to swear in Feinstein’s replacement by the middle of the week.

“Two top California strategists have cut ties with the super PAC supporting Barbara Lee’s U.S. Senate bid after she went scorched earth on Gavin Newsom,” Politico reports.

“Brian Brokaw and Dan Newman — political advisers to the governor — broke from Lee’s PAC, She Speaks for Me, and are siding with Newsom after he was castigated by Lee.”

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) intention to appoint a “caretaker” if Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) steps down is “insulting” to Black women, the Washington Post reports.

Said Lee: “The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election.”

She added: “There are currently no Black women serving in the Senate. Since 1789, there have only been two Black woman Senators, who have served a total of 10 years. The perspective of Black women in the U.S. Senate is sorely needed — and needed for more than a few months. Governor Newsom knows this, which is why he made the pledge in the first place.”

A new Los Angeles Times/UC Berkeley poll finds Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Katie Porter (D-CA) are neck and neck in the U.S. Senate jungle primary, with support from 20% and 17% of likely voters, respectively.

The two have opened up sizable leads over their other prominent Democratic opponent, Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland, who sits at 7%.

Los Angeles Times: “Capitol Hill is tight quarters, especially for members from the same state. Schiff, Porter and Lee are constantly bumping into one another and their other California colleagues in the hallways, the elevators, at committee hearings and on the House floor. The California delegation has a weekly Wednesday lunch. Lawmakers say they’ve spotted Schiff and Porter on the same flights from D.C. to LAX.”

“And while the Senate hopefuls and their colleagues insist that no one’s trying to make things weird, some California Democrats admit that having the three running against one another has created an uncomfortable situation.”

“Rep. Adam Schiff, the target of conservative scorn and House Republican censure as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate, raised over $8.1 million in the year’s second quarter, a major haul that’s likely to put more distance between his rivals,” Politico reports.

“The record-breaking quarter places the Democratic congressman in his party’s upper echelon of 2024 fundraisers and brings to $29.5 million his cash on hand for the Senate race.”