Mediaboss Marketing

TIME Politics 2016 Election Democrats Scramble for California Senate Seat Left: Tom Steyer; Right: Kamala Harris AP; Getty Images One rising star is in, another is out, and a billionaire donor is weighing a bid of his own

The retirement of California Sen. Barbara Boxer has touched off a furious scramble among Democrats jostling to replace her, with one rising star jumping into the race and several other veteran candidates publicly weighing whether to run.

Kamala Harris, Californias attorney general, laid down an early marker in the pricy, high-stakes contest by announcing Tuesday that she will run for the seat being vacated by Boxer, who said last week that she wont run for a fifth term in the Senate in 2016.

I will be a fighter for middle-class families who are feeling the pinch of stagnant wages and diminishing opportunity, Harris said in a message launching her campaign. I will be a fighter for our children who deserve a world-class education, and for students burdened by predatory lenders and skyrocketing tuition. And I will fight relentlessly to protect our coast, our immigrant communities and our seniors.

The top law-enforcement official in the nations most populous state, Harris, 50, is considered among the Democratic Partys rising stars. In normal contests, the entry of a glittering recruit into the race might prompt party kingpins to coalesce around her candidacy. But this is California, the countrys leading liberal redoubt, a state whose sluggish political turnover has yielded a long list of seasoned politicians patiently waiting for their shot. Harris may be the frontrunner, but she wont coast to the Senate without a challenge.

It wont come from Gavin Newsom, however. The states lieutenant governor said this week that he will pass on a campaign to succeed Boxer; instead he may mount a bid to succeed Golden State Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018. Newsoms decision spared California Democrats a collision between two of the states top politicians, whose bases of support and spheres of influence overlap.

Several other Democratic veterans are publicly mulling a campaign. One is former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whose ties in the Hispanic community and links to party donorsforged partly through a stint at the helm of the Democratic National Committeewould make him a contender for the seat. California Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who has served in Congress since 1997, has also said that she is seriously considering a run.

With strong candidates like Kamala Harris, Democrats remain confident that well hold this seat and continue Barbara Boxers long history of fighting for California, says Justin Barasky, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The DSCC will continue to monitor the California Senate race closely.

The billion-dollar question hanging over the contest is whether one of the nations leading donors decides to mount a campaign himself. Tom Steyer, the retired hedge-fund magnate, has emerged in recent years as the Democratic Partys most generous donor. In 2014, he shelled out some $74 million to candidates, mostly through a political-action committee dedicated to bringing the issue of climate change to the political forefront. Now Steyer is thinking about whether the next campaign he backs should be his own.

Holding office is a sacred trust in our society, and I am honored that so many colleagues and friends have encouraged me to consider entering this race, Steyer wrote in an essay for the Huffington Post. Washington needs to be shaken up, and we need climate champions who will fight for the next generation. California Democrats are blessed to have a deep bench of talent, and I will decide soon based on what I think is the best way to continue the hard work weve already started together to prevent climate disaster and preserve American prosperity.

Visit link:
Democrats Scramble for California Senate Seat