Kamla Harris, the Attorney General of California, has just announced she will run for Barbara Boxer’s U.S. Senate Seat. Boxer is not seeking re-election.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris will run to become the next U.S. Senator from California. Barbara Boxer, after serving over three decades in the House and Senate, is retiring after her term ends next year.Â
Harris, a liberal Democrat who had in the past been rumored to be a potential candidate for U.S. Attorney General and for the U.S. Supreme Court, won her first election as Attorney General in 2010, after serving as the District Attorney of San Francisco. She is California’s first African-American AG, first woman AG, and first Asian-American AG.
Harris, who is 50, will declare her candidacy officially Tuesday morning. The slate became clear when longtime California Democrat and current Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom Monday announced via Facebook he would not seek the Senate seat, although Sen. Dianne Feinstein is rumored to be considering retirement at the end of her term in 2018. Newsom might consider running for governor.
Buzzfeed reports Harris’ “announcement will come online, in a message to supporters.”
Politico labeled Harris “a rising star in the Democratic party,” but “by no means a shoe-in to take Boxer’s seat.”
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and hedge-fund manager and party operative Tom Steyer are also said to be considering jumping into the race.
One of Harris’ first acts upon becoming California Attorney General was to refuse to defend Prop 8 in federal court, leading to a Supreme Court ruling on standing that ultimately sounded the death-knell for the unconstitutional marriage ban.
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