After Primary Trouncing, Congresswoman Barbara Lee Endorses Adam Schiff for U.S. Senate

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), who recently came in 4th place in the U.S. Senate race primary with 9.8% of the vote, announced her endorsement of Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), her one-time Senate race rival, she announced in a statement late on Wednesday.

The Oakland-based Congresswoman was the third major candidate to enter the Senate race last year, coming into the race after only a few weeks after both Schiff and Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) entered the race. Initially, Lee was seen as a challenger for at least second place based on her longtime Congressional career, which began back in 1998. However, her far left stances quickly distanced her from voters, with polls never having her reach above 13% and lee never being able to crack the top 2 candidate barrier.

The death of Senator Diane Feinstein in September briefly raised hope for Lee as Newsom had pledged to pick a black candidate previously, and Lee being chosen to serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term would have given her a big boost in support as she would be the incumbent. However, Governor Gavin Newsom opted to select a caregiver candidate who would not run for another term to keep the election fair, dashing her hopes. This, plus the entrance of former baseball star Steve Garvey (R) in the race in October sent lee spiraling into 4th place and below the 10% poll mark for the rest of the race.

While there were a few bright spots, such as Lee leading support for being the official endorsed Democratic candidate in the race at a largely split California Democratic Party vote in November, support remained low going into debate season in January. Failing to reach 10% and her support largely focused either in the Oakland area or amongst the far left, Lee barely qualified for the three debates. In the end, she finished a distant fourth behind Schiff, Garvey, and Porter, coming in 4th place with 717,129 votes, or 9.8% of the vote, in the primary election in March.

With Lee now officially out of the race and being out of her House seat come January because of her focusing on her Senate campaign and not running for her House seat again, many analysts began waiting to see if she would give an endorsement or not. Porter, the other top candidate in the race who came short, had previously announced her endorsement of Schiff in Late March, with all eyes being on Lee. Many Democrats even wondered if she would even back Schiff, considering how much farther to the left she is than either Schiff or Porter.

Lee announces that she will back Schiff

However, fears were quelled on Wednesday when Lee announced that she would be officially endorsing Schiff for the Senate over Garvey.

“Californians have a clear choice this November in who they want representing them in the Senate — a Trump apologist or a defender of democracy,” said Lee on Wednesday. “Now more than ever, we need to elect people like Adam Schiff, who will stand up against the autocrats looking to divide this country and dismantle our democracy. For decades in Congress, I’ve worked alongside Adam to deliver for Californians. I’m honored to endorse him for the United States Senate.”

Later on Wednesday, Schiff thanked Lee for her support, even agreeing to be a special guest at a retirement fundraiser for her later on.

“Lee is one of our nation’s most powerful advocates for social justice and a tireless fighter to combat economic injustice, champion health care for all, and protect civil rights,” noted Schiff. “I’ve had the great privilege of working alongside her in the House to deliver for California families, and I look forward to continuing to partner with her to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for every Californian. I’m so grateful for her support in this race.”

Lee’s support gives Schiff yet another member of Congress officially backing him in the race. To date, he has virtually all California House members officially endorsing him this November, as well as both of his main Democratic Senate rivals to boot. However, while Lee’s support and likely fundraising abilities will likely help Schiff out, especially amongst far left and Bay Area voters, analysts have said that the endorsement will likely not do much overall because of Schiff’s lock with Democratic voters overall.

“Schiff needs more moderates and independents, not more Democrats right now,” Angela Hewitt, a Washington based elections analyst, told the Globe on Thursday. “Garvey is aiming not only for them, but also for Latino voters in key areas. Should he gain ground in all three, he keeps his remote chance of a victory alive. Lee’s supporters would already be voting for Schiff anyway. Sure, she also helps with fundraising events, but Schiff has a big war chest. If anything, he is helping her more by going to her fundraisers so she goes in debt free in retirement.”

“Her name does add another name candidate to his list of endorsers, but again, it is in an area in which he already had a lock in voters. He’s not going to say no to her support, obviously, but he would rather be going to events to bring in more independents for him rather than fundraisers for her. Her endorsement is something of a mixed blessing if anything.”

More endorsements are likely to be announced soon as the November election is now less than 6 months away.