Democratic Representative Adam Schiff is running for a Senate seat in his home state of California, and he received a big endorsement from one of his fellow House members last week.
After fellow California Representative Ami Bera said last week that she is supporting Schiff for the seat on the Senate, he’s now received the support of more than half of the liberal congressional delegation from California.
As the Sacramento Bee reported on Monday, Bera now counts herself among a group of California members of Congress who are supporting Schiff for the spot on the Senate. Other people who are in his corner include Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House.
In speaking with the newspaper, Schiff said that he agreed with Bera’s comments “that whoever replaces Feinstein needs to be well-versed in intelligence issues, including an understanding of science and technology.”
Schiff is one of many candidates who are seeking to replace long-time Senator Dianne Feinstein, who isn’t running for re-election next year. His main competitor in that race appears to be ultra-liberal Representative Barbara Lee, a black female.
Schiff received a lot of public attention over the last couple of years, as he led the first impeachment case against former President Donald Trump.
His background is in national security, which aligns well with Feinstein. She has served for many years on the Intelligence Committee in the Senate.
When Republicans took control of the House earlier this year, new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – who’s also from California, removed Schiff from the Intelligence Committee in the lower chamber.
The Speaker did so because he said Schiff lied to Americans when he talked about evidence that he believed implicated Trump in a case of collusion with Russia.
Schiff also took many liberties when he led that impeachment inquiry. He didn’t follow precedent or due process principles when he conducted some witness depositions behind closed doors instead of in the public eye, and when he blocked questions that some Republicans had about the whistleblower whose words apparently led to the start of the investigation.
While he initially said that he would have the whistleblower testify to the House, he later admitted that he lied about his staff having interactions with that person.
California will hold its primary elections next March, which is much earlier than it used to be. That means Schiff and all other candidates for the Senate seat will know relatively early in 2024 whose name will appear on the general election ballot in November.
It’s also possible, though, that Feinstein will end up leaving her post before her current term expires. Many Democrats have called on the long-time senator to resign after she missed some months of work due to health issues – and then didn’t seem “all there” when she returned.
Feinstein has insisted that she won’t resign, though, and will finish out her term. If she doesn’t, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom would be responsible for appointing a person to replace her for the remainder of her term.
