Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., announced Monday that she will run for re-election to the Senate in 2018 as she seeks a sixth term.
“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 tweeted Monday morning.
Although the Twitter account is not verified, a Feinstein spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Examiner that she is running again.
Feinstein, 84, the oldest member of the Senate and the former mayor of San Francisco, has found herself caught in the crosswinds of the Democratic “resistance” since President Trump’s election in Novemeber and has drawn the ire of many supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
At a town hall in late August, Feinstein shocked attendees by saying Trump could be a “good president” if he learns and changes enough over time. She has also been a vocal skeptic of a single-payer healthcare system and has called out Sanders for his role in the party considering he “isn’t a Democrat.”
Feinstein also said recently that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, put in place by former President Barack Obama in 2012, is on shaky legal ground and that Congress should pass a law to continue the program. Although Trump and Democratic leadership in Congress struck a deal to help the Dreamers, the details of any agreement have yet to be ironed out.
Despite the opposition from some on the left, Democrats are already coming out to support her re-election. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., the state’s junior senator, announced her endorsement of Feinstein moments after she announced her plans.
“I strongly support Dianne’s re-election campaign, and am thankful she is again offering to serve our state. 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,” Harris said. “We are better off with her leadership and I look forward to continuing to fight together for California in the Senate.”
Republicans currently hold a slim two-seat majority in the upper chamber and have a favorable map in 2018 as the GOP is likely to defend only eight seats compared to the Democrats’ 25 seats, including two independents who caucus with the party.
Feinstein has served in the Senate since 1992.
