Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she’ll endorse Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in California’s U.S. Senate race if Sen. Dianne Feinstein decides not to run for re-election in 2024.
Why it matters: Feinstein, 89, has not yet announced her retirement, but a field of candidates has already begun to form.
- Schiff, who announced his campaign for Senate last month, is the second House Democrat to launch a bid for Feinstein’s seat after Rep. Katie Porter.
- Rep. Barbara Lee, former chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also plans to jump in the race.
The big picture: Pelosi praised Feinstein’s “remarkable legislative record” over her years in the Senate and said that if Feinstein decides to run again, “she has my whole-hearted support.”
- “If she decides not to run, I will be supporting House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who knows well the nexus between a strong Democracy and a strong economy,” Pelosi added.
- If Schiff succeeds Feinstein in the Senate, Pelosi said he would be “effective from the start in putting People Over Politics.”
