The Dem campaign jumps the gun on claiming the party’s endorsement despite coming up short

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who is running for Senate in 2024, prematurely claimed she won the California Democratic Party’s endorsement for her campaign despite getting fewer votes than needed to do so, according to a report from Politico.

Lee is current for the Senate seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler of California, in a three-way race against fellow Democrats Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter of California. At the state party’s endorsement convention, held Friday through Sunday, Lee prematurely issued a press release claiming he had won the party’s endorsement despite losing the vote, according to a report by Politico’s California Playbook.

“BARBARA LEE WINS THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY,” Lee’s campaign wrote in a press release shortly after voting concluded. Lee, with 41% of the vote, he had won only a narrow plurality of support over Schiff’s 40%, with both well short of the 60% needed to win the party’s support.

Within minutes, Lee’s team corrected Press release, which now says “Barbara Lee wins California Democratic Party vote” and mentions that she only won a plurality.

“From day one, this campaign has been focused on delivering the progressive agenda that working Californians deserve: a Green New Deal, single-payer health care, and economic, racial, social and environmental justice for all” , Lee wrote in the press release.

Lee is currently tracking both Schiff and Porter, who have 16 percent and 13 percent support, respectively, compared to his 9 percent, according to a Nov. 17 Emerson College poll. However, his good performance at the support convention has been attributed to her left-wing political positions resonating with party activists, especially herself call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas during their ongoing armed conflict in Gaza.

Schiff and Porter, on the other hand, have not called for a ceasefire, with Schiff, a former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, saying that “Israel is experiencing its own 9/11 . . . and there are no two sides to this attack. Hamas is a terrorist group mass-murdering hundreds of innocent Israelis and taking women and children hostage.”

Schiff has also condemned the use of the sentence “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” often used by pro-Gaza activists, but seen as equivalent to the destruction of Israel.

California’s all-party general primaries will be held on March 5, 2024, with the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, advancing to the general election.

The campaigns of Lee, Porter and Schiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Latest posts from Arjun Singh (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.

JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and good conversation. If you’ve commented with us before, we’ll need you to re-enter your email address for this. The public won’t see it and we won’t share it.