California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna announced on Sunday that he will not run for Senate in 2024, while also calling Rep. Barbara Lee is supporting Senator Dianne Feinstein for the seat.
“Over the past few months, it has been an honor to hear from progressives and Bernie Sanders supporters who have reached out and encouraged me to enter the race,” Khanna said in a press release. “While I am honored, I think the most exciting place to promote bold and progressive policies right now is in the House.”
“Today, I am proud to endorse Barbara Lee and co-chair her campaign. From the beginning, I said I would take a close look at what Barbara Lee is doing and that her decision would weigh heavily on mine,” Khanna continued. “She is a personal hero and one of the reasons I first ran for Congress on an anti-war platform at age 27. Her single voice against the war in Afghanistan is one of the most courageous acts of the modern time.”
Khanna also made the announcements on CNN’s “State of the Union”.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN ANNOUNCES SHE WILL NOT seek reelection in 2024
Feinstein, who is currently the longest-serving female senator ever and also the oldest serving senator at age 89, announced she would not be seeking re-election in early February.
California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna announced on Sunday that he will not run for Senate in 2024, while also calling Rep. Barbara Lee is supporting Senator Dianne Feinstein for the seat. (Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I am announcing today that I am not running for re-election in 2024, but that I intend to accomplish as much as I can for California through the end of next year, when my term expires,” the senator said in a statement last month.
REP. BARBARA LEE FILES TO ENTER RACE FOR FEINSTEIN’S SEAT
Lee applied to enter the race just a few days after Feinstein announced her retirement. She’s about to run against fellow Democratic Representatives Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, who have also announced their intention to take the senator’s seat.
Senator Dianne Feinstein is 89 years old. She was elected to the Senate in 1992 and is now the longest-serving female senator ever. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
When asked why he wouldn’t support Porter or Schiff, Khanna replied that he had a lot of “respect for them, but Barbara Lee is a unique voice”.
A REVIEW OF SOME OF SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN’S HARDEST MOMENTS IN THE SENATE
“The other two are formidable candidates, but I think Barbara Lee will be very, very strong,” Khanna added.
Lee is the highest-ranking black woman appointed to the Democratic leadership of the House, as well as co-chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Lee is the highest-ranking black woman appointed to the Democratic leadership of the House, as well as co-chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. Among other things, the Representative is the only member of Congress to vote against authorizing the use of military force after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Julia Musto of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Haley Chi-Sing is a Fox News digital production assistant. You can reach her at @haleychising on Twitter.
