Newsom’s appointed replacement for Feinstein allowed to run for full term

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) appointee to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat will have the option to run for a full term in 2024.

Feinstein’s term was slated to end in 2024, and Newsom had long implied he was only searching for an interim replacement. However, Newsom’s office confirmed to the Washington Examiner that there will not be a “precondition” that this replacement is in the Senate only temporarily.

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The late senator was 90 years old when she died on Friday and had already announced she did not have plans to run for reelection in 2024. As a result, Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Katie Porter (D-CA) threw their hats in the ring. Newsom had claimed it would be “unfair” to name either of those three and suggested the position to replace Feinstein be temporary and not become a full-term candidate to make way for hard-working candidates. Now, however, the governor has seemingly changed his mind.

Newsom previously promised to appoint a black woman to the post. Vice President Kamala Harris was the state’s most recent black woman in the seat, but she gave it up to join President Joe Biden’s ticket. Lee is the only black woman currently in the running and has the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus.

An appointment is expected sometime mid-week, which will be about a week since Feinstein died. Newsom called Feinstein “a dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model not only for me, but to my wife and daughters for what a powerful, effective leader looks like” in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, following her death.

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Lee is a six-term representative, having represented California’s 12th District (formerly 9th and 13th) since 1998. Most recently, she had one Democratic candidate primary her in 2022 but eventually swept the party’s nomination and then the general election by an over 87% vote.

Some 19 current Democratic House members have endorsed Lee in her bid for the Senate. Notably, she has not nabbed the support of fellow Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who previously served as speaker of the House, who instead endorsed Schiff shortly after he announced.