On the biggest stage yet in the race to replace outgoing California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top three Democratic candidates stormed through their state convention parties in downtown Los Angeles this weekend, courting delegates, meeting with

influential

potential backers and try to build early support in the unpredictable game.

Representative Katie Porter

snapped selfies with fans while her campaign offered croissants, muffins and coffee. Representative Adam

B.

Schiff delivered a combination of risqué humor and dad jokes during a late-night stand-up

comedy

performance. And Representative Barbara Lee

leaned heavily on her long history of supporting liberal causes, even when they were unpopular and prompted death threats, while her supporters nibbled on cupcakes, macaroons, and chocolate truffles.

Very little separates the trio in terms of policy. So to carve a path to victory in the 2024 race, they must find a way to stand out ahead of the California primary in March.

They will have to decide what portion of the Democratic electorate they want to peel off and claim for themselves, Democratic strategist Roger Salazar said.

Lee, a longtime elected official in Oakland, is likely to find strength among Bay Area and Black voters, who vote faster than other Democrats,

according to

Salazar and other Democratic strategists

said

. Meanwhile, Schiff of Burbank and Porter of Irvine could split the Southern California Democrats. Porter and Lee could split the Democratic women’s vote in a state that has had two female senators for most of the past three decades.

other

It’s unclear who has an edge among Latino, Asian-American, and LGBTQ+ Californians.

The pie will be messy, Salazar said. I don’t think anyone will have a clean slice.

While the staff protects Feinstein from the press, a picture really is worth a thousand words

Nearly 2,500 delegates attended the California Democratic Party convention this weekend, along with other guests, voters typically more liberal and more adept at the intricacies of party politics and candidates than much of the electorate, Garry noted. South up, one

veteran

Democratic strategist.

To the average Democratic voter, these three candidates are quite a blur, he said. The people who show up at state party conventions are going to be pretty knowledgeable.

Still, many attendees were skeptical.

Aimee Powers, 43, from Burbank said:

I like all three

said Aimee Powers, 43, of Burbank, who works as a project manager for a technology company.

I would really like to see a woman in the chair.

said the technology company’s project manager.

But Adam Schiff is also my congressman and I really appreciate the work he’s done. So it’s a tough decision.

According to a recent poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, many likely California voters are still undecided who they will support to replace Feinstein.

GOP attorney Eric Early, the only prominent Republican in the race, received the support of 18% of likely voters. The three Democrats split

on the

support among a larger pool of likely voters, with Porter

winning support from on

17%, ship

bee

14% and Lee

bee

9%.

(The rest were either undecided or said they plan to vote for someone else.) Would Oprah replace Dianne Feinstein in the US Senate? Her rep says no

women

those voters

between the ages of 18 and 49, and Orange County residents had a greater affinity for Porter. Schiff had power among likely voters age 65 and older, as well as residents of Los Angeles County.

other

Lee had strong support from black voters.

None of the Senate candidates were official speakers at the convention, the first in-person gathering of state Democrats since the

outbreak begins

of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet the

senates

candidates were star attractions at the rally as they strolled the halls, followed by supporters chanting and waving; visited caucus groups to make their case; and organized parties and meet & greets.

All three candidates spoke

celebrate

women’s pageant, the largest in the state party, with a packed crowd of several hundred in a hotel ballroom.

Schiff applauded the Woman’s March the day after

former

The inauguration of President Trump in 2017, who said it made a crucial difference in national politics.

And you chased that orange-haired SOB out of town, he said, before calling former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who approved his bid.

I also want to thank the greatest speaker of the House of Representatives of all time, Nancy Pelosi, he said. And I say that not just because she makes great recommendations, but because she makes great history.

Schiff received a warm reception, but the crowd roared as Porter and Lee spoke. Both said their experiences as single mothers are changing

thing

their priorities as elected officials.

We need to wake up Washington, Porter said. There is no question that Washington is catering to billionaires’ desires and corporate interests while leaving our families behind.”

Tell it, Katie! shouted a woman in the audience.

I’m not afraid to shake up the status quo and do things differently, Porter said, adding that she’s never taken donations from corporate PACs, federal lobbyists and executives who work in Big Oil, big banks or Big Pharma.

Best known as the single voice against granting broad wartime powers to President George W. Bush after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Lee highlighted her work in the California legislature to get a Republican governor to sign into law she

word written

including the California Violence Against Women Act and a law that increases penalties for people who block

edit

Access to abortion clinics.

We are not looking back on this campaign, Lee said. But I want you to look at what I’ve done as a progressive black woman, both in the legislature and in Congress, to know that I will stand my ground. I have convictions and courage. And it is an indication of what I will be doing in the future.

Lee is seen as an underdog in the race, in part because she doesn’t have the fundraising record of Schiff or Porter. But she and her supporters reject it

edit

That

assumption

because of its long, consistent history.

Barbara Lee is not new to this. She’s true to this, state comptroller Malia Cohen said at Lees’ reception Friday night, which drew hundreds of convention attendees. This is really progressive.

California Republicans, buoyed by congressional victories, have no clear prospects for the Senate

It was a clear swipe at Schiff, who has the support of much of the Democratic establishment and is a former member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition. In January, he applied to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but later withdrew his application. Lee and Porter have been members of the group for a while.

Schiff seemed to burn his progressive credentials at the convention and signed a pledge not to accept donations

of over $200 during this campaign

from executives, lobbyists and political action committees in the oil, gas and coal industries

at this campaign

. It’s his first time

has

signed the pledge; Lee and Porter have

both so signed

earlier.

ship,

while best known for his work on Trump’s impeachments,

ship

said

climate concerns save the planet

one of his top priorities, because if we don’t save our planet, eventually the other things won’t matter.

and then

hours later,

it went from green to blue.

hours later,

A crowd of about 100

people

collected for Schiff’s comedic intervention. The convention stand-up set lasted approx

eight and a half

8 minutes and elicited both laughter and moans.

Schiff joked that his wife, Eve,

is what

more conservative than

hehe what

and had

recently

told him

recently that

she opposed gay marriage: “She said, ‘Adam, we’ve been married 25 years. We’ve been the same sex for 25 years. And I just think there’s got to be a better way.'”

he said.

The official conference program

largely

focused

largely

on celebrating Pelosi: Bags and plates featured stylized images of the San Franciscan who made history by becoming the first woman to hold the gavel. Prominent Democrats praised her career in a video;

she and Hollywood mega donor

and studio mogul

Jeffrey Katzenberg was spotted having lunch in Langers,

deli

immediately

#19

sandwich (pastrami, swiss, coleslaw and russian dressing) on ​​it

ir

table.

While Pelosi has not announced whether she plans to retire before her term ends in early 2015, Feinstein has said she will not seek another term. Yet there was hardly any mention of the 89-year-old at the convention

fine stone

a towering figure in California politics for decades that has clashed with the party’s left wing.

Stands

Treasurer Fiona Ma hosted a bingo night on Friday where the names of prominent Democrats replaced the numbers on the cards. When Feinstein’s name was mentioned, some of those present booed.

It’s not the first time. Feinstein was berated on the congressional floor in 1990 when she declared her support for the death penalty during a failed gubernatorial run. In 2018, the party supported a liberal challenger to the incumbent, an embarrassing rebuke.

But things are different now, with Feinstein facing significant health issues. She was not in the country’s capital for almost three months

,

this year, as she recovered from shingles, an absence that allowed Republicans to block some of President Biden’s judicial nominees. Feinstein’s recent return to Washington, D.C. has not allayed concerns about her suitability for the job.

Janet Fields of Long Beach said she had struggled with the news of Feinstein’s health problems, but eventually decided that

the senator should

resigning due to the delay in confirming Biden’s judicial nominees.

I’m torn because it’s very sad, said Fields, the legislative and political co-chair of Communication Workers of America Local 9588. She’s one of the greatest. How do you kick out one of the biggest?