Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
U.S. Senate Race for Feinstein Seat Starts Games of Musical Chairs
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
January 31, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Remember the game of musical chairs?

A group of chairs is assembled and the players – one more than the number of chairs – march around them as music plays. When the music stops, the players scramble to sit in the chairs and the player who can’t find one is out of the game. One chair is removed and the game continues until there’s just one chair and one winner.

It’s an amusing game when played by children. It can be downright violent, essentially a brawl, when adults play, particularly after they’ve been drinking.

A multi-level political version of the game is emerging in California as at least three members of the state’s congressional delegation launch 2024 campaigns for Dianne Feinstein’s seat in the U.S. Senate, on the probably accurate assumption that she will retire after occupying it for three decades.

Dan Walters with a serious expression

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

Two Democrats from Southern California, Orange County’s Katie Porter and Adam Schiff of Los Angeles, have announced and Oakland’s Barbara Lee hasn’t made it official yet but has told supporters she’s planning to run.

Other ambitious politicians could join the field once the 89-year-old Feinstein announces, as expected, that she’ll retire. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Health and Welfare Secretary Xavier Becerra are among the less likely possibilities, as is Gov. Gavin Newsom.

However, Kounalakis, Bonta and Becerra are also potential candidates for the governorship in 2024, when Newsom will be forced out by term limits – assuming he hasn’t already segued into some other office by then.

The dynamics of a three-way Democratic duel for the Senate are complex, involving ideology, gender, geography, congressional records, age and, of course, money. It takes millions of dollars, and perhaps tens of millions, for a credible senatorial campaign in California and at the moment it’s uncertain which of the three is the presumptive frontrunner.

At the very least, having three congressional members running for the Senate means the outcome will be a career-ender for at least two of them.

Meanwhile, the prospect of having three open congressional seats touches off scrambles of their own, particularly among state legislators. Democrats will retain Schiff’s and Lee’s districts, but Porter barely won re-election in her Orange County district last year, so Republicans have a rare opportunity to pad their thin congressional ranks.

Porter has endorsed Democratic state Sen. Dave Min to succeed her in Congress but two other Democrats have also announced: Dom Jones, a contestant on the Amazing Race reality TV show, and former Congressman Harley Rouda. Scott Baugh a former Republican legislator who very nearly defeated Porter last year, will take another shot at the seat in a district that is rated a toss-up due to its voter registration (D-35.6%, R-33.9%)  and past voting record.

Schiff’s announcement also generated a wavelet of would-be successors, including Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, termed-out state Sen. Anthony Portantino, former Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, Los Angeles school board member Nick Melvoin and actor Ben Savage.

The third tier of political musical games involves those who would succeed the state legislators who will be running for Congress next year.

When state Sen. Dave Min declared for Congress, it was a relief for another Democratic senator, Josh Newman, because redistricting after the 2020 census had put both of them into one new Senate district. They may not be facing each other next year but Newman won’t have an uncontested re-election run because former Republican Assemblyman Steve Choi, who lost his seat in 2022 due redistricting changes, says he will seek the Senate seat.

The music is playing, so let the games begin.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to rreed@gvwire.com for consideration. 

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

UP NEXT

July 4th Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Founding Fathers

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

Presidential Election Reveals Big Shift in California Voting Patterns. Will It Last?

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

Wanted Fugitive Found Hiding in Attic Arrested in Chowchilla

50 minutes ago

Trump Says US Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

2 hours ago

Wall Street Knocked Lower by Tariff Jitters, Musk’s Political Plan Hurts Tesla

2 hours ago

Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump’s Student Crackdown, Begins

2 hours ago

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Administration Over Planned Defunding

2 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Injures 1 Firefighter, Burns Over 80,000 Acres

2 hours ago

Two Border Patrol Officers Injured After Gunman Opens Fire in Texas

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 9 at Independence Day DUI Checkpoint

2 hours ago

Schumer Wants Probe of National Weather Service Response in Texas

3 hours ago

Israeli Guilt Over Gaza Lurks Beneath Silence and Denial

3 hours ago

Man Dead After Firing at US Border Patrol Station in Texas

WASHINGTON – A 27-year-old Michigan man was shot dead by police after opening fire with an assault rifle on a U.S. Border Patrol stati...

15 minutes ago

Photo of caution tape
15 minutes ago

Man Dead After Firing at US Border Patrol Station in Texas

The Flume Fire in Sequoia National Forest has burned 65 acres near Highway 190 with no containment as of Monday, July 7, 2025, prompting evacuations in Tulare County. (CalFire)
26 minutes ago

Tulare County Flume Fire Burns 65 Acres in Sequoia National Forest, Evacuation Order Issued

Firefighters stopped the forward progress of the Fish Fire near Avocado Lake after it burned 15 acres Monday, July 7, 2025, reaching 50% containment. (CalFire)
41 minutes ago

Fresno County Fish Fire Burns 15 Acres Near Avocado Lake, 50% Contained

Gary White, 42, a wanted fugitive, was arrested in Chowchilla after deputies found him hiding in an attic and he surrendered without incident on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (Madera County SO)
50 minutes ago

Wanted Fugitive Found Hiding in Attic Arrested in Chowchilla

Containers on a cargo ship are pictured at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Trump Says US Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 30, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
2 hours ago

Wall Street Knocked Lower by Tariff Jitters, Musk’s Political Plan Hurts Tesla

Protesters march near the campus of Columbia University in upper Manhattan to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia student, on March 14, 2025. A federal judge in Boston on Monday, July 7, 2025, will hear opening statements in a trial expected to present the foremost challenge to the Trump administration’s aggressive posture toward foreign students who espoused pro-Palestinian views. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump’s Student Crackdown, Begins

Activists for Planned Parenthood demonstrate as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in South Carolina's bid to cut off public funding to Planned Parenthood, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Administration Over Planned Defunding

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend