Adam Schiff advances to November election to fill Dianne Feinstein’s seat

LOS ANGELES — US Representative Adam Schiff will advance to a November election to decide who will fill the US Senate seat held for three decades by the late Dianne Feinstein.

It’s not yet clear who will emerge from a crowded field of contenders to take on Schiff in the fall. California puts all candidates, regardless of party, on the same primary ballot and the two who get the most votes advance to the general election.

Democrats are expected to easily hold the Senate seat in November, a relief for the party as it seeks to defend a narrow majority. But the campaign still represents a new era in California politics, which was long dominated by Feinstein and a handful of other veteran politicians.

Fellow Democratic Representatives Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, and former baseball star Steve Garvey, a Republican, are among the race’s other top contenders.

Schiff gained national attention as a leading antagonist to former president Donald Trump during his years in the White House. He was a leading voice during Trump’s two impeachments, prompting House Republicans to take the extraordinary step of censuring him after they gained control of the chamber.

That only deepened his appeal in the Democratic stronghold of California, helping Schiff become a favorite of the party’s establishment with endorsements from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, most of California’s congressional delegation and former Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

With that high-powered support, Schiff was a fundraising powerhouse, an important advantage in what became a massively expensive primary campaign.

The seat is expected to stay in Democratic hands. Republicans haven’t won a Senate race in California since 1988.

The race is California’s first open US Senate contest since 2016. Even before Feinstein announced in early 2023 she would not seek re-election, many of the state’s ambitious Democrats were eagerly awaiting their shot at the coveted seat.