The 76-year old Barbara Lee has served in Congress since 1998 and represents California's 12th congressional district, covering Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro. She joins fellow Democratic congress members Adam Schiff and Katie Porter in the race for the seat in the 2024 election. Dianne Feinstein announced last week that she will not seek a sixth Senate term.
In a statement, Lee said she was running for the Senate "because Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who has accomplished real things and delivered real change.”
Lee also noted that she was the first Black woman elected to the state Assembly, the state Senate, and was the first Black woman to be elected to represent a congressional district in Northern California.
In a video posted to YouTube and her campaign website, Lee touted her record on fighting HIV and AIDS, writing California's first law targeting violence against women, and being the sole "no" vote on authorizing presidential war powers after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Lee is scored as one of the most liberal members of Congress by govtrack.us. She has been the primary sponsor of four pieces of legislation that were enacted into law, including a bill that gave assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries in 2005, and two appropriations bills for federal funding this year.
