Who could replace Dianne Feinstein?

Veteran Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein died on Thursday at the age of 90after serving congress for more than three decades.

The death of the Californian reduces the number of Senators aligned with Democrats at 50against 49 republicans. It comes at a crucial time, with a showdown between House republicans and the Biden administration on the way put the government into a partial shutdown early next month.

Governor of California Gavin Newsom has the right to appoint a temporary substitute for the vacancy senate seat, before a special election in 2024 that will determine who will hold the seat until January 2025. This will be in addition to the November general election, when Californians will decide who holds the seat for six years, starting of January 2025.

If Newsom nominates one of the top Democratic candidates for the Senate seat on an interim basis, it could give them an incumbency advantage over internal party rivals.

The governor has previously pledged to appoint a black woman to the seat. Of the top contenders, only Rep. Barbara Lee, who was elected to the House from California’s 12th congressional district, meets that criteria. Alternatively, Newsom may choose to nominate someone on the condition that he not run in the special election, so there is no incumbency advantage. This could be a politician nearing the end of his career who would appreciate a brief stint in the Senate.

Either way, a special election will have to be held, and there are three major Democratic candidates expected to vie for the seat. All of them serve in the House of Representatives. Newsweek has provided a brief summary of the trio of top contenders.

Representative Adam Schiff

Adam Schiff, 63, represents California’s 30th District in the House, where he has served since 2001, after serving as a California state senator. Schiff, then chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, led the charge donald trumpfirst impeachment trial. This resulted in an acquittal when he failed to get the necessary two-thirds support in the Senate.

A UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies poll released earlier this month had Schiff as the leading candidate to replace Feinstein. She had 20 percent of the vote, followed by Rep. Katie Porter with 17 percent, and Rep. Lee with 7 percent.

Schiff has a formidable fundraising machine, with 495 people giving him as much as $6,600 in campaign funds in the first half of the year, according to a Politico analysis. That’s far more than any other candidate.

Figures from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) showed Schiff had a campaign war chest of $29.8 million as of June 30 of this year.

Rep. Katie Porter

Katie Porter, 49, has represented California’s 47th congressional district in the House since January and previously represented the 45th congressional district for four years beginning in 2019.

A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, Porter had $10.4 million in campaign funds as of June 30, according to the FEC. However, he relies much more on small donations than Schiff, with just 47 people giving him the maximum $6,600 in the first six months of the year.

Porter paid tribute to Feinstein after her moving to X, formerly Twitter, posting: “Senator Feinstein was a pioneer for women in California politics, and her leadership in preventing gun violence and fighting torture made our nation more just. I wish her Beloved, be strong during this difficult time.”

Representative Barbara Lee

Lee, 77, served in both the California House and Senate before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. She drew attention after being the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization of the use of force in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Lee later became a vocal opponent of the Iraq War.

She is polling behind Schiff and Porter and has a much smaller campaign fund, with just $1.4 million as of June 30, according to FEC figures. However, if Governor Newsom appoints her to the vacant Senate seat on an interim basis, she could benefit from her incumbency in the next special election.