California Senate race: LA Mayor Karen Bass endorses Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee

Rachel Looker, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Wednesday endorsed California Rep. Barbara Lee in the 2024 California Senate race that is attracting several prominent Democrats campaigning to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Lee will be campaigning against Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, who was the first to announce her candidacy for the seat, and Adam Schiff. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed Schiff last month.

Lee receives endorsement from LA mayor

Karen Bass, the first Black woman elected Los Angeles mayor, left, shakes hands with Vice President Kamala Harris, a longtime friend, and former California attorney general in Los Angeles, at Bass' swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.
Karen Bass, the first Black woman elected Los Angeles mayor, left, shakes hands with Vice President Kamala Harris, a longtime friend, and former California attorney general in Los Angeles, at Bass' swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.

Bass previously served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, a position Lee has also held. The Los Angeles mayor is the first woman and second African American mayor of the nation's second largest city.

"Barbara Lee and I have been friends for decades, and I am proud to endorse her for U.S. Senate," Bass said in a statement. "As her colleague in Congress, I saw her leadership firsthand."

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Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022.

Lee, 76, will face a tough primary next year against Porter and Schiff for the solidly blue seat.

The candidates are vying for the seat that Feinstein, a former mayor of San Francisco, has held since 1992. She has served longer than any other woman in the Senate.

Porter, 49, has called for "new leadership" in a video announcing her campaign shared on her social media accounts.

Schiff has served in the House since 2001 and was a member of the House Intelligence Committee in the last Congress. The 62-year-old, who led the first impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, was a key figure on the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Lee, was first elected to the House in 1998. She said in a campaign video she is “running for U.S. Senate because Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who has accomplished real things and delivered real change.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Barbara Lee endorsed by Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass for Senate