Democrats already expect to be on defense with the 2024 Senate map, but one deep-blue state could hold a unique question mark: California.
It’s still unclear whether California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 89, will retire at the end of 2024. But she told the Los Angeles Times this week that she will “absolutely” serve out the rest of her term.
“There’s still two years, you know. A lot can happen in two years,” before adding she’ll announce whether she’ll seek another term sometime this spring.
“The senator has no plans to step down and will announce her plans for 2024 at the appropriate time,” a spokesman told the paper.
If the seat opens up next cycle, either by a Feinstein resigning or retiring, expect a mad dash for the seat between many members of California’s Democratic bench.
In other 2024 news:
Commonwealth campaign: February’s special election to fill Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District gives a new generation of Black Democrats an opportunity.
Blame game: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell lamented his party’s “candidate quality” in the midterms, insinuating that former President Donald Trump’s endorsements helped the party fall short in key states.
Covid politics: Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hard-right push for a grand jury related to Covid vaccines and potential side effects is the latest way the governor has positioned himself to the right of Trump on the issue.
Asa weighs next move: Outgoing Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the Associated Press that he plans to make a decision about running for president in early 2023. Hutchinson didn’t rule out supporting Trump if he’s the GOP nominee, but called that possibility “the worst scenario.”
Arizona Senate: Democratic senators are dodging questions about whether they’d support Sen. Kyrsten Sinema if she runs for re-election in 2024 now that she’s become an independent, the Washington Post reports.
