Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein easily secured the top runoff spot in her re-election race despite a challenge from the Left on Tuesday.
Progressives boosted state Sen. Kevin de Leon’s bid against Feinstein, urging the veteran senator to step aside and make room for the next generation. But Feinstein’s support in California runs deep and de Leon has been unable to overcome his name recognition deficit. She led de Leon, who also advanced to the general election, by more than 30 points.
After the California Democratic Party didn’t endorse Feinstein, the senator dismissed the snub, and continued to lead in the polls.
As de Leon faces Feinstein in the general, progressives are expected to ramp up their attacks on the senator, who they argue is out of touch with the Resistance movement. De Leon is backed by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, who is battling party establishment on a number of fronts, including his campaign to impeach President Trump.
The race is viewed as another proxy fight between establishment Democrats and the progressive base attempting to push the party left in its opposition to Trump. California allows the top two vote-getters regardless of party to advance to November. Republicans are locked out of the general election for Senate.
