The field for outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) Senate seat is taking shape quickly.
It’s been a quick turnaround since Boxer announced on Thursday that she would not run for re-election in 2016. On Monday, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he would not run for Boxer’s seat, an announcement that shrinks the field of top tier candidates on the Democratic side and focuses more attention on whether Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) will run for Boxer’s seat.
Newsom made the announcement on Facebook:
It’s always better to be candid than coy. While I am humbled by the widespread encouragement of so many and hold in the highest esteem those who serve us in federal office, I know that my head and my heart, my young family’s future, and our unfinished work all remain firmly in the State of California — not Washington D.C. Therefore I will not seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2016.
In the months to come, I look forward to doing whatever I can to help elect California’s next great Democratic Senator — one worthy of succeeding Barbara Boxer and serving this remarkable state of dreamers and doers in the United States Senate.
The decision slightly reduces a large prospective field of Democrats. The top tier of that pool centers on Harris, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer. Both Villaraigosa and Steyer have suggested strong interest in running for Senate over the past few days.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Ahead of Newsom’s announcement on Monday, the major question was if both Newsom and Harris, the two highest-profile possible candidates would both decide to run. Newsom’s decision means that if Harris decides to run she wouldn’t have to duke it out with another formidable Democrat whose supporters are in the same geographic area —both Democrats’ electoral strength is in northern California.
Harris is a former prosecutor who, during her first term, was able to notch a multi-billion dollar foreclosure-abuse settlement on behalf of California. She’s often been mentioned as a possible candidate for statewide office before and a rising star with a national position in her future. If elected she would be the first woman senator to represent California who is of African American and South Asian descent, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Now the question centers on what Harris will do. Even though she’s been mentioned as a strong potential candidate, Harris and her advisers have been very quiet about her plans, even with EMILY’s List and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee courting her to run, according to Buzzfeed.
“I am just enjoying this day, thank you,” Harris said when asked by The Los Angeles Times about running after a speech Sunday at the City Club.
Both Steyer and Harris are believed to be strong fundraisers —Steyer for his personal wealth and Harris because she showed a competitive fundraising ability in 2014. In the 2014 election cycle, Steyer spent $74 million to support Democratic candidates at the gubernatorial and congressional level as well as to push climate change awareness —but there wasn’t much of a payoff. When Boxer said she would not run for re-election, Steyer quickly began looking at polling data and making calls about possibly running for her seat, according to Politico. A Steyer bid for Senate in California would also likely center on his signature topic: climate change and the environment.
The charismatic Villaraigosa, who is Hispanic, is more of a mixed bag as a potential candidate. He’s considered a rising star nationally for Democrats which is why he was picked to run the Democratic National Convention in 2012. But the Los Angeles Times recently noted that he grew increasingly unpopular among Angelenos during his two-term stint as mayor and was seen as a “self-promoter.”
He’s also shown more interest in running for governor in 2018.
The Republican field is not considered as strong as the Democratic side but names mentioned include former Republican gubernatorial nominee Neel Kashkari and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin (R).
