Thread: Senator Barbara Boxer won't seek re-election in 2016

Time, LA Times, WaPo Suggest Liberal Billionaire Steyer as Boxer Replacement

By Mike Ciandella | January 9, 2015 | 12:01 PM EST
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Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer is considering running for Barbara Boxer’s U.S. Senate seat, according to Politico, and the media are thrilled. The media have pressured liberal billionaire Tom Steyer to run for office before, and as soon as Boxer’s seat opened up they began suggesting him as a viable replacement.
According to the Jan. 9 Politico piece, “[a]lmost as soon as Boxer announced that she would not seek reelection in 2016, Steyer began reviewing polling data and making calls to California labor and political figures, associates said. And he is consulting with the contacts he made while running two multi-million-dollar advocacy campaigns focused on statewide ballot measures in 2010 and 2012.”

Politico also noted that “[a]s far back as 2013, when asked about his political ambitions, Steyer told POLITICO, ‘I am willing to do a lot of things to address the generational challenge we face. I will say that.’”

Steyer spent more than $74 million on campaigns in 2014, but his efforts ranged from ineffective to inaccurate. Politico even called some of his ads “bizzare,” while The Washington Post gave another “four Pinocchios,” the most scathing falsehood rating that the Post can give to something.

The 74-year-old Barbara Boxer announced on Jan. 8 that she won’t be seeking re-election in 2016. The Sacramento Bee also mentioned that Sen. Dianne Feinstein “who will be 85 in 2018, could also retire.”

Time magazine’s online service, The Washington Post and the local Los Angeles NBC affiliate lost no time in listing among “as possible candidates” to replace Boxer. Time described Steyer as “a hedge-fund manager who spent billions backing candidates who promoted action on climate change in the 2014 election cycle,” but failed to mention how poorly those candidates had fared.

Even before Boxer’s resignation was announced, print media outlets had asked Steyer if he would consider running for political office. Steyer has been a media darling for years. The New York Times even called him “the most influential environmentalist in American politics,” while The Washington Post classified him as a “climate change radical.” And, as The Sacramento Bee pointed out, Steyer “can afford” to finance his own campaign. But these media outlets fail to mention that while he was campaigning against fossil fuels in the United States, Steyer was making money off of coal mining in Australia as late as 2013.

This isn’t the first time that Steyer would have considered a job in politics either. According to San Francisco Gate, the hometown newspaper for Steyer’s primary residence, he “was considered a shoo-in for a position in Kerry’s administration.”

Steyer was also rumored as a possible replacement for Energy Secretary Steven Chu, although he told The San Francisco Business Times that he would be “awfully surprised” if President Obama asked him to take that position.

Up until this point, Steyer has stuck to funding other people running for office instead of running himself, but with little success. In 2014, he spent more than $74 million on liberal candidates, most of which ended up losing. Even the three candidates he funded who won owed little or nothing to Steyer.

- See more at: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-ci....n3Z8dfSi.dpuf

Lt. Gov. Newsom passes on Senate run for Boxer seat


Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom takes the oath of office for lieutenant governor on Jan. 5 with his wife, Jennifer, and daughters Brooklynn, 1, and Montana, 5. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

By SEEMA MEHTA contact the reporter

Newsom passes on Senate run for Boxer seat; has long expressed desire to run for governor

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday morning that he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer.

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“It's always better to be candid than coy. While I am humbled by the widespread encouragement of so many and hold in the highest esteem those who serve us in federal office, I know that my head and my heart, my young family's future, and our unfinished work all remain firmly in the state of California --- not Washington, D.C. Therefore I will not seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2016,” Newsom said.

The former mayor of San Francisco has long expressed a desire to run for governor. He briefly ran the state’s top executive post in 2010 until it became clear that Jerry Brown would be the Democratic nominee, at which point Newsom successfully ran for lieutenant governor instead.

Newsom also has three young children, and he and his wife are said to be reluctant to move their family from Marin County to Washington, D.C.

But Newsom, like many prominent Democrats in California, had been urged to seriously consider a run for Boxer’s seat after she announced last week that she would not seek another term. The state last had an open U.S. Senate seat in 1992, and given California’s Democratic tilt, whichever candidate wins the post is nearly assured the job for as long as he or she wants it, barring scandal.

Newsom’s announcement intensifies the focus on Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who is also weighing a run. Harris and Newsom share many of the same supporters, have national profiles, are both from the Bay Area and are popular among the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Their backers have long hoped that the pair would avoid running against each other in what would be an ugly battle. The unanswered question is whether Harris also wants to be governor.

On Sunday, she demurred when asked by a reporter at an event in Los Angeles whether she would run for Boxer's seat.

“I am just enjoying this day, thank you,” she told The Times after giving a short speech at the City Club about her goals in her second term as the state’s top law-enforcement officer.

Newsom, 47, joins Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in taking himself out of the running for the Senate seat. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer are seriously considering bids, as are several members of Congress. On the Republican side, Assemblyman Rocky Chavez and two former state GOP chairmen are weighing runs.

http://www.latimes.com/local/politic...112-story.html

Atty. Gen. Harris to announce U.S. Senate bid on Tuesday


Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is the first candidate to officially declare that she will seek Barbara Boxer's Senate seat. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

By SEEMA MEHTAcontact the reporter

Harris plans to announce bid for U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday. First candidate to declare for Boxer seat.

Harris adviser: "She's not testing the waters. She's charting the course. She's in with both feet."

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris will announce Tuesday that she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer, according to a Harris advisor.

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"She's not testing the waters. She's charting the course. She's in with both feet," said the source who requested anonymity while discussing Harris' plans.

The move comes as Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he would not run for the seat, averting an ugly battle between two Democrats who share many of the same supporters, have national profiles, are both from the Bay Area and are popular with the liberal wing of the party.

Harris, 50, who is in her second term as attorney general, previously served as the district attorney of San Francisco. She is the first candidate to officially declare. Boxer announced last week that she would not seek reelection in 2016, setting off a scramble among Democrats who have not seen an open U.S. Senate seat since 1992.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer are seriously considering bids, as are several members of Congress.

On the Republican side, Assemblyman Rocky Chavez and two former state GOP chairmen are weighing runs.

http://www.latimes.com/local/politic...112-story.html

Loretta Sanchez 'Seriously Considering' Running For Senate In California

The Huffington Post | By Mollie Reilly
Posted: 01/13/2015 3:21 pm EST Updated: 20 minutes ago

Rep. Loretta Sanchez is the latest California Democrat to express interest in retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer's seat.

"For the past 18 years, I have focused on putting California’s working families first. From immigration reform to affordable health care to funding quality education, I have advocated for policies that give all families the same access to the American Dream," Sanchez said in a Tuesday statement. "Californians deserve a strong voice in Washington and I have never been afraid to speak up, which is why I am seriously considering running for the United States Senate in 2016."

Sanchez was first elected to Congress in 1996, representing part of Southern California's Orange County. She explored running for California governor in 2010, but ultimately decided against jumping in the race.

Boxer, who has served in the Senate for more than two decades, announced last week that she would not run for re-election in 2016. The state has not had an open Senate seat since Boxer was first elected in 1992.

Sanchez's statement came hours after California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that she would run for the seat, becoming the first candidate to officially jump in the race.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has also said he is considering running, while California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he would stay out of the race.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6465290.html