The news of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) death prompted immediate speculation about what will happen to her now vacant seat in the closely split Senate as Congress barrels toward a government shutdown.
The legendary lawmaker’s death leaves Democrats with a mere single-seat majority in the upper chamber of Congress, giving Republicans the ability to block any partisan efforts that lack the entire Democratic conference’s support. Whether Feinstein should remain in her coveted seat was the subject of intense national debate this year as concerns mounted about her advanced age and mental decline.
Public polling on the Senate race shows Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter essentially tied for the top spot and Rep. Barbara Lee not far behind, within the margin of error in most surveys. Also in the mix are baseball legend Steve Garvey, who is mulling a bid as a centrist Republican, and former tech executive Lexi Reese, a Democrat who raised an impressive $1 million in the second quarter of this year but is an unknown in the state.
Newsom said earlier this year he would choose a caretaker to fill the seat temporarily in the event of a vacancy to avoid throwing next year’s contest to one candidate over another, though Lee called that decision “insulting.” Some of the names he’s been reported to be considering include California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, and Angela Glover Blackwell, an Oakland-based civil rights attorney. Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey was also floated as a possibility, though she quickly dismissed the idea.
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