Despite Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., not revealing whether she intends to seek a fifth consecutive term yet, the California Democratic Party is already scrambling to find new blood in 2024.
California Democrat Reps. Ro Khanna, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff are already preparing to jump into the Golden State race, according to Politico. Of the three, only Schiff has officially announced the creation of an exploratory committee.
"They're starting to call me to get ready for what is a massive campaign — truly, massively expensive and hard-fought," former Sen. Barbara Boxer told the outlet. "It will be a very crowded field.
"This isn't something you do at the last minute. It takes tremendous preparation, and tremendous organization and messaging and money and all of those things," she continued. "Anyone who's interested in this, with full respect to Sen. Feinstein, should start securing the support they need."
Schiff made his intention to run for the open seat clear after a failed attempt at House leadership, informing NBC's WRC-TV last month that he was fielding the opportunity.
"I did consider a role in leadership in the House, but I was persuaded by many of my colleagues to consider running for the Senate if Sen. Feinstein decides not to run for reelection in two years, so I am exploring it," he stated.
Feinstein is currently the oldest serving U.S. senator, at 89 years old. She was first elected to a full term in 1994 and was most recently reelected in 2018 after beating a Democrat challenger from her left, former state Sen. Kevin de Leon.
A Democrat insider warned Politico that "by virtue of the calendar and her age, the playbook is getting to a climax here" on Feinstein, adding those with "interest have been talking to people about their interest."
Meanwhile, three of Feinstein's former staffers and four other senators have voiced concerns over whether she is mentally fit to serve, claiming her memory is "rapidly deteriorating," the Daily Mail reported.