Rep. Katie Porter To Run For Feinstein's Senate Seat In 2024

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — California Rep. Katie Porter announced a 2024 Senate bid on Tuesday, launching her campaign for Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat after serving Orange County residents since 2018.

“California needs a warrior in the Senate – to stand up to special interests, fight the dangerous imbalance in our economy, and hold so-called leaders like Mitch McConnell accountable for rigging our democracy,” Porter said Tuesday in a tweet accompanied by a video announcing her candidacy.

Porter will seek to take the seat from Feinstein, a member of the Senate since 1992. Feinstein has not made public her own plans for 2024, and her office did not respond to a request for comment on Porter's announcement.

Porter is best known nationally for her sharp questioning in House oversight committee hearings and is a leading progressive who has served as deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

She's a former law professor who won her first Orange County-area House seat in 2018 before surviving a tough re-election bid in 2022.

Feinstein, 89, has faced questions about her age and memory and whether she will seek another term. She has not announced whether she will seek reelection in 2024.

Feinstein won her sixth election in 2018 and has been a force for Democrats, serving for a time as chair of the intelligence and judiciary committees. However, she also has seen pushback from Democrats who view her as too bipartisan at a time when politics is more polarized and her state is increasingly liberal.

In 2020, Feinstein announced she would step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The move followed criticism that she was too friendly with Republicans during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. That included an embrace of the Republican Chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina at the conclusion of the hearings and kind words for what she called a job well done.

Feinstein has defended her performance and said in 2021 that she planned to serve her full term, even as there was open speculation and discussion about the future of the seat. Gov. Gavin Newson said in 2021 that he would appoint a Black woman to replace Feinstein if she were to retire early.

Associated Press contributed to this report.