Sen. Liz Warren (D-MA) endorsed her former student, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), for U.S. Senate in California days after Porter announced her bid for 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat.
“I am really excited to endorse Katie Porter to be the next senator from California,” said Warren in a video she tweeted out Thursday. “Katie and I met each other long before either one of us thought about elected office. Katie was my student in consumer law, and she saw how giant corporations rig the rules to hurt families.”
“She’s smart, and she has a backbone made out of steel. She stands up to Wall Street and Big Pharma, she holds fossil fuel companies accountable, and she fights for all our rights,” Warren went on to add. “We need her and her whiteboard in the United States Senate.”
Ironically, Orange County Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker on Tuesday asserted that Porter’s Senate bid signals that “she’s finally come clean of her intentions to join her hero, Elizabeth Warren in the United States Senate.” He also claimed that she has used her constituents in Orange County “as a steppingstone for higher office.”
Porter’s announcement marks the first move in what is expected to be a highly contentious battle among California Democrats over the seat. In December, Feinstein, who has reportedly had issues with forgetfulness, told the Los Angeles Times she intends to finish out her term but is weighing retirement at its culmination. The oldest member of Congress has not publicly made a decision regarding her political future, but Porter’s move surely increases the pressure on the more moderate Feinstein.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has also voiced his interest in a potential run for the seat, telling KTTA’s The Issue Is in December that he had been receiving “a lot of encouragement to run for the Senate from people in California and colleagues here in Congress.”
“If Senator Feinstein retires, then I will give it very serious consideration. You know, at this point, I think we’re waiting to see what Senator Feinstein has to say about her plans, but yes, it is something I’m giving serious consideration to,” said Schiff.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Barabra Lee (D-CA) are also reportedly probing the possibility of a run for Feinstein’s seat.
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