Kevin De León Turns Up Heat On Feinstein

In a new campaign video released today, California State Senator Kevin de León has turned up the heat and the focus on rival Dianne Feinstein.

The ad, which the campaign is paying to promote on the internet, runs roughly two minutes and 30 seconds and emphasizes De León’s struggle growing up as a young Latino boy with a single mother who immigrated to the U.S. in search of a better life. In the video are segments that rip both Feinstein and President Trump for their harsh immigration rhetoric and current laws.

check out our new video — I hope you find watching it as moving as I did making it. https://t.co/mtp7VHpzmr

— Kevin de Leόn (@kdeleon) September 18, 2018

“How would my life change if they had taken her away from me? Who would I be today?” He says, “And where did all this horror begin?” All this taking place in the video while two white male officers displaying ICE patches on their uniforms hold De León’s depicted mother in handcuffs and begin to haul her away. This segment unquestionably seeks to cast a horrific portrayal of what some illegal immigrant families experience when they cross the border.

Additionally, the clip shifts to past comments made by Feinstein including “The illegal immigrants who come here and commit felonies ― that’s not what this nation is,” the video shows Feinstein saying in 1994 before adding “I say return them to their own country, wherever that country may be,” which she said in 1993. Then one more segment of Trump where he refers to illegals as “rapist” before de León says “We deserve better leadership… There’s too much at risk.”

De León, who stepped down from his leadership position in Sacramento this last March in order to make his Senate run, has been considered far more progressive than incumbent Feinstein. According to Huffington Post, “He wants to remind Californians of Feinstein’s record of centrist positions not only on immigration, but also on taxes and foreign policy, which he believes show she is out of touch with California voters. Feinstein voted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for former President George W. Bush’s income and estate tax cuts, and until recently, she supported the death penalty, de León noted.”

Despite what non-supporters may think of de León, he certainly has an impressive resume. 36 years younger than Feinstein, he has represented California’s 24^th district, which encompasses parts of Los Angeles, for over a decade – first serving in the Assembly and since 2010 in the Senate. He was also selected to become president pro tempore of the state Senate, the first Latino in California’s history to do so. He also managed to lock down an official endorsement from the California Democratic Party which was certainly a major blow to Feinstein and may be a sign of impatience by liberal Democratic activists across the nation.

According to Daraka Larimore-Hall, 44, a Santa Barbara community college professor and a member of the executive committee who voted for Mr. de León, “Kevin de León represents the future of the Democratic Party — a solidly progressive legislator who can see that things like Medicare for all and moving forward on climate justice are the things that really energize our base in the long run,”

Notwithstanding all the positive light and support de León has managed to build, Feinstein is a political veteran and a California powerhouse. According to opensecrets she has raised a healthy $15.3 million compared to de León’s comparatively measly $1.3 million. Most of Feinstein’s money can be attributed to her own financial success; she has dumped over $9.5 million into her campaign with just under $4 million still available to spend. Also while it may appear she is throwing money at a race she frets to loose, nearly every prominent Democrat in the state has rallied behind Feinstein, including Sen. Kamala Harris and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

All elements considered; a poll conducted earlier this month captured Feinstein with 37% of the vote while de León only trailed by 8 points at 29% of the vote. 34% of people casted in the poll remained unsure. This race will continue to gain attention as it boils down to November.