CA Gov. Newsom discreetly seeking replacement for Sen. Feinstein: Report

California Governor Gavin Newsom Opens “Soft Inquiry” for Potential Replacement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has reportedly opened a “soft inquiry” to fill Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat should she retire before the end of her term in 2025 due to her increasingly poor health.

Newsom isn’t openly searching, a “person involved in the conversation” told Vanity Fair. Instead, the governor is asking: “If somehow one of California’s U.S. Senate seats was vacant, would you be interested in filling it?” the mag said.

Back in 2021, Newsom committed to picking a black woman to replace Feinstein, 89, who missed three months of work earlier this year due to her deteriorating health. But Vanity Fair says should he stick with that plan, he’ll ruffle some feathers.

Perhaps the most qualified is Red. Barbara Lee (D-CA), but she is running far behind Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter in early polling. Appointing Lee would greatly annoy another powerful California Democrat, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who prefers Schiff.

Meanwhile, a new poll released this week found a majority of California voters think Feinstein should resign.

Majority of California Voters Call for Feinstein’s Resignation

• The Inside California Politics/Emerson College survey found 63% think she should go, while 37% say she should stay. The same poll found just 22% approve of the job Feinstein is doing, while 48% disapprove.
• “Older voters are more likely than younger voters to say Feinstein should resign: 68% of voters over 50 think the Senator should resign compared to 58% of voters under 50 who say the same,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
• “When asked who voters supported for the March 2024 primary election for US Senate, a plurality (47%) are undecided. Fifteen percent support Rep. Adam Schiff, while 14% support Rep. Katie Porter, and 6% support Rep. Barbara Lee,” the pollster said.

In March, Feinstein suffered an outbreak of shingles that spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments, as well as facial paralysis.

The virus also brought on a case of encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that can leave sufferers with long-term memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, and difficulties walking.

When Feinstein returned to the Senate in nearly three months later, she was in a wheelchair, with “the left side of her face frozen and one eye nearly shut, she seemed disoriented as an aide steered her through the marble corridors of the Senate, complaining audibly that something was stuck in her eye,” The New York Times reported.

Other polls have found that Californians are tiring of Feinstein. More than two-thirds of voters in a statewide survey think Feinstein is not fit to serve in the Senate, according to a recent poll.

Sixty-seven percent of registered voters in the state say Feinstein’s latest illness, which has left her in a wheelchair, has left her unfit for office, according to a poll conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

Poll respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement, “Feinstein’s latest illness underlines the fact that she is no longer fit to continue serving in the U.S. Senate.”

In addition, on the question of whether she should resign, a plurality (42%) said she should. Another 27% said Feinstein should serve in the Senate until the end of her term in 2025, while 31% said they were undecided.

The poll was conducted from May 17 to 22 and surveyed 7,465 registered voters with random emails in both English and Spanish.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.