Feinstein says she is running for reelection

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced on Monday morning that she will run for reelection in 2018.

“I am running for reelection to the Senate. Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare. I’m all in!” Feinstein said in a tweet. 

I am running for reelection to the Senate. Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare. I’m all in!

— Dianne Feinstein (@DianneFeinstein) October 9, 2017

Feinstein, who is 84, has been tight-lipped for months over whether she would seek a fifth term.

{mosads}Asked on Sunday if she would run, she declined to answer, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she was “close” to a decision.

“You are going to find out about that very shortly,” Feinstein said. But she appeared to hint that she was preparing to announce a decision to seek reelection. 

Asked about a poll that half of California voters don’t think she should run, she added: “Oh look. There are polls and then there are polls.”

“I’ve got things to fight for. I’m in a position where I can be effective, and hopefully that means something to California,” she said.

A Public Policy Institute of California survey released late last month found that roughly half of voters believe Feinstein shouldn’t seek another term.

Feinstein has come under fire from liberals who argue she hasn’t done enough to block President Trump’s nominees as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

She also got pushback during a town hall earlier this year when she noted that she doesn’t support a government-run health-care system, often known as single-payer.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), while stressing that he had no plans to run against Feinstein, said she is “out of touch with the grassroots of our party on economic policy and foreign policy.”

“The fact that the establishment is rallying around her re-election shows that DC insiders continue to privilege protecting one of their own over the voters’ concerns,” Khanna said.

Feinstein could face a primary challenge in the race, which political handicappers rank as solidly Democratic. Joseph Sanberg, a financial entrepreneur, and Kevin de León, California’s state senate president pro tem, have both been floated as potential challengers. 

Environmental activist Tom Steyer, who has been coy about his 2018 plans, also told the Los Angeles Times that he was “not ruling anything out” in the wake of Feinstein’s announcement that she would run for reelection.

Meanwhile, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla — viewed as a potential successor if Feinstein retired — quickly offered an endorsement, saying she “has delivered” for the state.

“At a time when so much we hold dear is under attack, we need her in the US Senate. I stand with her,” he said in a tweet.

Fellow California Sen. Kamala Harris (D) offered a quick endorsement for Feinstein, saying she is “thankful” that she’s running again.

“What Californians get from Dianne is someone who sticks to her principles and achieves results regardless of powerful opponents, from the assault weapons ban to the CIA torture report. We are better off with her leadership and I look forward to continuing to fight together for California in the Senate,” she said in a statement on Facebook.