Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) announced her candidacy for the Senate in California, becoming the third member of Congress to run for the seat vacated at the end of next year by the retirement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“For those who say my time has passed, when does making change become out of style? I’m not stopping. I’m not giving up. Let’s go. It’s not in my DNA,” said Lee, 76, in a video released by her campaign on Tuesday. “Because when you stand on the side of justice, you don’t stop. If you don’t give a seat at the table, you bring a folding chair to everyone.”
Lee also nodded to the fact that she is the only Black woman in the Senate if elected to the job. The latest senator to hold the distinction today is Vice President Kamala Harris, who also represents California in the upper chamber.
“Even if there are no African-American women in the United States Senate, we will not let that stop us – because if you stand on the side of justice, you will not stop if they don’t give you a seat at the table,” Lee said in the video.
Lee joins a fast-growing field of candidates to replace Feinstein, 89, who recently said she would step down after a long and storied career in public office. California Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, 49, and Adam Schiff, 62, jumped into the race ahead of Feinstein’s announcement. Both are known as exceptional fundraisers.
Lee, a progressive House Democrat from Oakland, was first elected to Congress in 1998. He gained national attention in 2001 for being the only member of Congress to vote against the war in Afghanistan, cementing his legacy as an anti-war icon. A survivor of domestic violence who once traveled to Mexico for an abortion as a teenager, Lee has been outspoken on women’s rights issues in Congress. She is also the highest-ranking black woman appointed as House Democratic leader.
During an interview published Tuesday by the San Francisco Chronicle, Lee dismissed the notion that his age could be an obstacle in the race. He pointed to his life experience as something that would set him apart from his young progressive rivals.
“Bernie Sanders is older (81) than me, and he won California,” Lee told the newspaper about the Vermont senator’s 2020 presidential primary victory. “It’s about talking to the voters. If Bernie Sanders can win the California primary, Barbara Lee can certainly win be the next United States senator. Come on.”
California has a “top two” primary system, meaning the top two vote getters in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
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