Report: Dianne Feinstein Will Skip Endorsement of California Democratic Party

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will not seek an endorsement from the California Democratic Party (CDP) for the second time.

It was unlikely Feinstein, who is seeking a fifth term in the Senate, would have received her party’s endorsement over her challenger State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). The race between the two Democrats has exposed the rift between the Democratic party’s more moderate and progressive wings; de León has more support from the progressives in the Democratic Party and the group has shown increased clout in the Golden State.

“I am respectfully asking you to vote no endorsement in the U.S. Senate race,” Feinstein said in a “Dear Friend” letter she sent to the 350-plus executive board members of the CDP who will vote on July 14 in Oakland. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, she added, “Republicans would like nothing more than to see Democrats fighting each other … at the exact time we need to come together and focus on the general election.”

Neither Feinstein nor De León won the endorsement of the state’s Democratic Party in February, although De León was closest to achieving it, having been just 6 points shy of the 60% he needed to secure it. Feinstein received just 37% of the vote.

Some suggested Feinstein would be better off forgoing the party’s endorsement altogether so she could dismiss an unfavorable vote as a consequence of her lack of action on the matter.