Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) “is planning to formally launch her campaign for U.S. Senate in California by the end of February, according to a person with knowledge of the plans who said Lee is timing her announcement to coincide with Black History Month,” the Washington Post reports.

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) should uphold his promise to choose a Black woman to take Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat, if the 89-year-old Senator doesn’t finish her term in office, NBC Los Angeles reports.

“Porter, who is an announced candidate for Feinstein’s post, appeared to endorse the Governor’s pledge, as there are currently no Black women in the U.S. Senate.”

“Several of her House colleagues are already running for her Senate seat. She isn’t raising real money. And it’s so widely assumed that Sen. Dianne Feinstein is on her way out that Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, felt free this week to publicly endorse a would-be successor — if Feinstein retires,” Politico reports.

“An extreme awkwardness has fallen over California political circles, where virtually everyone is acting as if Feinstein is done, but without her explicitly saying so. It’s the electoral equivalent of clearing the dessert from the dinner table as one guest sits there, nibbling at the main course chicken dish that had been served hours prior.”

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday threw her support behind Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) in what is shaping up as a competitive 2024 Senate race in California if Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) chooses not to run, the Washington Post reports.

Said Pelosi: “If Senator Feinstein decides to seek reelection, she has my whole-hearted support. If she decides not to run, I will be supporting House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who knows well the nexus between a strong Democracy and a strong economy.”

“A Senate race pitting the man who spearheaded former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, Adam Schiff, against fundraising powerhouse and wonk superstar Katie Porter would guarantee fireworks and a price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” NBC News reports.

“But add a candidate representing the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, Ro Khanna, and a living legend who got her start with the Black Panthers and would become the only Black woman in the Senate, Barbara Lee — now you’re talking about a California Senate race for the ages.”

“And Democrats are just getting started.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told Raw Story that “she’s not not running. In fact, she has no plans to decide — let alone announce — her 2024 intentions until next year.”

Said Feinstein: “I need a little bit of time, so it’s not this year.”

She added that she isn’t fazed by her current — or potential — Democratic challengers: “Oh, I don’t mind it. The more, the merrier.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told KQED that he made his Senate campaign announcement after talking to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

Said Schiff: “I wouldn’t be doing this without her blessing.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has announced he is running for U.S. Senate in 2024, joining a growing field of Democrats who are seeking to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who has not explicitly said she would run for reelection, the Washington Post reports.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) endorsed Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) in her newly-announced bid for U.S. Senate in California.

NBC News: “Warren’s marks the first major endorsement in the burgeoning primary battle for the California seat— still currently occupied by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Porter officially announced her intention to seek the seat on Tuesday, even though Feinstein has not yet said if she is running for a sixth term.”

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) announced a $1.3 million money bomb in the first day since she announced her U.S. Senate campaign, The Hill reports.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told Politico not to expect a U.S. Senate campaign announcement from him today, along with a veiled shot at Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) who did make an announcement.

Said Schiff: “You don’t announce a campaign in the middle of a natural disaster.”

Meanwhile, Porter’s pollster David Binder put out a survey showing Porter leading Schiff, 37% to 26%, in a hypothetical top-two November election.

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) announced that she is running for U.S. Senate from California in 2024.

Porter has $7.7 million in her campaign account, but two potential primary rivals also well-positioned: Rep. Adam Schiff has $20 million cash on hand and Rep. Ro Khanna has $5.4 million.

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) “is weighing a campaign launch for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat — potentially even before her veteran Democratic colleague announces her plans for 2024,” Politico reports.

“Fresh off a bruising battleground reelection win, the third-term Porter is now considering a bid for what is likely to be an open Senate seat in deep-blue California as a next step… Feinstein is widely expected to retire after her current term, but she isn’t making any firm moves yet ahead of what’s expected to be an official announcement within the next couple months.”

“A new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) means voters will get two chances to choose a replacement to fill the U.S. Senate seat once held by Vice President Kamala Harris next year,” The Hill reports.

“The law will require California voters to vote twice for U.S. Senate candidates — once to fill the remaining months of Harris’s term, between the November 8 midterm elections and the beginning of the next Congress, in January 2023, and once for a full six-year term that begins in January.”