A new poll released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) reveals that 50% of likely voters believe that veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) should retire rather than seeking a sixth term in 2018.
The survey notes:
As Feinstein considers whether or not to run for a sixth term, 41 percent of adults say she should and 46 percent say she should not. Among likely voters, 43 percent say she should seek another term and half (50%) say she should not. Most Democrats (57%) say she should run again, while most independents (55%) and Republicans (69%) say she should not.
Feinstein, who would be 85 years old on Election Day next year, has been coy thus far about her plans for re-election. She would be 91 at the end of her next term.
No contender has yet emerged to replace Feinstein were she to retire, and Harris has offered her full support if she chooses to run again.
“I am a strong supporter of Dianne, and if she decides to run again, I will be front and center in supporting her — and for lots of good reasons,” Harris told Politico earlier this month. “I may not agree with her on everything. But I admire and respect her. … I do strongly believe that she is one of the greatest public servants that California has had.”
Feinstein (54%) and her junior counterpart, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) (47%), both have relatively high job approval ratings among likely California voters when compared with President Donald Trump, who only earns 31%. But Governor Jerry Brown leads the pack with 55% approval among likely voters and adults in general.
The margin of error for the poll was 3.1%.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.