House Democrat Ro Khanna Announces He Won’t Seek Senate Seat

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks in Washington on Oct. 12, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) announced Sunday that he won’t run for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Dianne Feinstein. Instead, he will endorse fellow Rep. Barbara Lee and will co-chair her campaign to be California’s new senator.

Khanna made his announcement on CNN’s “State of the Union,” saying that the House was “the best place” for him to advance progressive policy.

“I have concluded that despite a lot of enthusiasm from Bernie [Sanders’] folks, the best place, the most exciting place, action place, fit place for me to serve as a progressive is in the House of Representatives,” Khanna said.

Feinstein, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, announced in February that she will not seek reelection in 2024.

Before Feinstein announced her retirement, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) announced in January that she would challenge Feinstein for her seat in 2024.

Two weeks after Porter’s announcement, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced his bid for Feinstein’s seat.

On Feb. 21, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) joined the 2024 Senate race, announcing her bid to succeed Feinstein.

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Khanna told CNN that he is endorsing Lee.

“I’m honored to be co-chairing Barbara Lee’s campaign for the Senate and endorsing her today,” Khanna said. “We need a strong anti-war senator, and she will play that role.”

When asked why he didn’t endorse Porter or Schiff, Khanna said he had respect for both of them, but that Lee “is a unique voice.”

“She was the lone vote against the endless war in Afghanistan. She stood up so strongly against the war in Iraq. She worked with me in stopping—trying to stop the war in Yemen, and the War Powers Resolution,” Khanna said.

“Representation matters,” Khanna continued. “We don’t have a single African-American woman in the United States Senate. She would fill that role. She will be the only candidate from Northern California, and she’s going to, I think, consolidate a lot of progressives.

“The other two are formidable candidates, but I think Barbara Lee is going to be very, very strong.”

On Sunday evening, Lee took to Twitter to thank Khanna for his endorsement.

“I will fight everyday to push our shared progressive agenda of Medicare4All, ending student debt, and abolishing the filibuster,” Lee added.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 8, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Poll

Schiff and Porter were front runners in the Senate race, according to a recent poll by the University of California Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS). The poll was conducted between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20—before Lee officially announced her candidacy.

The poll showed Schiff leading with 22 percent, followed by Porter with 20 percent. The then prospective candidate Lee was a distant third with 6 percent of support, with Khanna in fourth place at 4 percent. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they were undecided.

In a three-way race excluding Khanna, Schiff still came out on top with 23 percent of support, followed by Porter at 20 percent and Lee at 8 percent. Thirty-nine percent of persons polled said they were undecided.

7,512 California registered voters were polled, of whom 5,681 were registered Democrats or voters that did not express a party preference.

“The results give good reason to expect a relatively wide-open race. Since so many voters are unfamiliar with the candidates, there is much potential for movement,” said IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler about the poll results. “It will likely be several months before most voters tune into the race, and a key challenge for each candidate will be to build a statewide following.”

The poll also found an age divide, with Schiff leading Porter among respondents aged 50 and older, and Porter leading Schiff among those aged 39 and younger. Respondents between 40 and 49 were closely divided between Schiff (17 percent) and Porter (21 percent).

Under California’s primary rules, all candidates run on the same ballot regardless of the party they represent, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election—meaning that it is possible that two Democrats would run against each other for Feinstein’s seat in 2024.

In 2018, two Democrats—Feinstein and Kevin de León—ran against each other in the state’s Senate race. De León is currently a member of Los Angeles City Council.