Adam Schiff Announces Senate Run in California - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who emerged arsenic 1 of President Donald J. Trump’s main legislature tormentors from his perch atop the House Intelligence Committee, announced connected Thursday that helium would question the Senate spot agelong held by Dianne Feinstein.

“I privation I could accidental the menace of MAGA extremists is over,” helium said successful a video connected Twitter. “It is not. Today’s Republican Party is gutting the mediate class, threatening our democracy. They aren’t going to stop. We person to halt them.”

Mr. Schiff, 62, is the 2nd subordinate of California’s Democratic legislature delegation to articulation the 2024 race, aft Representative Katie Porter. He enters the run with the largest nationalist profile, built from his presumption arsenic the manager of Mr. Trump’s archetypal impeachment trial. He aboriginal served connected the House committee liable for investigating the origins of the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the Capitol.

On Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, exiled Mr. Schiff and Representative Eric Swalwell, different Democrat, from the House Intelligence Committee successful retribution for their actions toward Republicans erstwhile Democrats held the majority.

Ms. Feinstein, 89, has not said whether she volition tally again successful 2024 but is wide expected not to bash truthful arsenic she faces Democratic worries astir her property and quality to serve. Last year, she declined to service arsenic president pro tem of the Senate, and successful 2020 she ceded her post arsenic the apical Democrat connected the Senate Judiciary Committee aft coming nether unit from her enactment during the Supreme Court confirmation proceeding of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

A erstwhile national prosecutor, Mr. Schiff served successful California’s State Senate earlier being elected to a Los Angeles-area House spot successful 2000.

In Congress, helium became a adjacent state of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who tapped him to play a starring relation successful Mr. Trump’s impeachment proceedings and past on the Jan. 6 committee. Last fall, Mr. Schiff passed connected a accidental for a slot connected the post-Pelosi House enactment team to absorption connected a planned tally for the Senate.

During and aft the Trump years, Mr. Schiff became 1 of the astir prodigious fund-raisers successful Congress. During the 2018 predetermination cycle, helium raised $6.3 million, and past his fund-raising surged to $19.6 cardinal successful 2020 and $24.5 cardinal successful 2022 — without a competitory predetermination of his ain to wage. He has not faced a superior situation since arriving successful Congress, winning each of his wide elections by astatine slightest 29 percent points.

According to the latest Federal Election Commission reports, Mr. Schiff had $20.6 cardinal successful run wealth astatine the extremity of November, compared with $7.7 cardinal for Ms. Porter and $54,940 for Representative Barbara Lee, who has told donors of her plans to run.

While Mr. Schiff and Ms. Lee’s House seats are safely Democratic, Ms. Porter’s is acold much contested; she won re-election successful November by three percent points.

Other California Democrats considering moving for Senate see Representative Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley. Because of California’s all-party superior system, the predetermination is not apt to diagnostic a competitory Republican candidate; successful 2016 and 2018, 2 Democrats precocious to the Senate wide election. Last year, a Republican won 39 percent of the ballot against Senator Alex Padilla, who had been appointed to decorativeness Vice President Kamala Harris’s term.

California, the nation’s astir populous authorities with astir 40 cardinal residents, has not hosted a highly competitory contention for an unfastened Senate spot since 1992, erstwhile Ms. Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, a chap Democrat, were some elected for the archetypal time.

Ms. Feinstein, who is successful her sixth term, has been trailed by questions astir her fittingness to serve. Problems with her short-term representation person go an unfastened concealed connected Capitol Hill, though fewer Democrats person been consenting to sermon the taxable publicly.

She has made nary moves to suggest she volition question re-election successful 2024. She has not hired a run unit and, successful the latest run concern study for the play ending successful September, had less than $10,000 successful currency connected hand, a paltry sum for a sitting senator.