Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she will support Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff’s bid for US Senate in California if the state’s longtime senator, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, decides not to run for reelection next year.
“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,” Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, said in a statement.
Schiff, a Los Angeles-area congressman, announced his bid for Feinstein’s seat last week, joining what is shaping up to be a competitive primary field. Though she has filed 2024 reelection paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, Feinstein, 89, has not yet announced whether she plans to seek a sixth full term next year and has faced criticism over her fitness for the job.
Should Feinstein decide to seek reelection, the former San Francisco mayor would have Pelosi’s “whole-hearted support.”
Feinstein “has achieved a remarkable legislative record, always delivering for California and forcefully honoring her oath to protect and defend,” Pelosi said.
Schiff, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, was kicked off the panel last week by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He was also a member of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol and served as the lead House manager during former President Donald Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial.
Other candidates have also joined the Senate primary in California, including Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who announced a bid last month. Multiple sources told CNN last month that Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee told her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus during a closed-door meeting that she plans to run for Senate as well. Under California’s primary system, all candidates run on the same ballot, with the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advancing to the general election.
Other potential candidates include California Lt. Gov Eleni Kounalakis, state Attorney General Rob Bonta and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a former congressman and California attorney general.
