洛杉矶-加利福尼亚州的美国参议员竞选正在以惊人的速度展开，候选人报告了七位数的筹款，并在2024年初选前一年多举行了竞争集会和竞选活动选举。
89岁的参议员黛安娜·范斯坦是国会中年龄最大的成员，他对民主党席位的争夺正在成为全国知名竞争对手之间的一场大对决，很可能成为明年美国最昂贵的参议院竞选之一。
周六，美国民主党众议员亚当·希夫(Adam Schiff)成为前总统首席检察官唐纳德·特朗普在他的家乡加州伯班克，数百名支持者聚集在联合大厅的停车场举行集会，他恳求欢呼的人群，“让我们赢得这场比赛。”
上个月宣布参选的希夫表示，他在国会工作了20年后，将竞选参议员，“以建立一个为所有人服务的经济，一个永远持续的民主和一个不会在我们脚下融化的星球。”
一天前，美国民主党众议员凯蒂·波特(Katie Porter)将她的参议员竞选活动带到了洛杉矶，她在那里会见了当地领导人，讨论低收入社区的污染问题。她说，在华盛顿和萨克拉门托，这些地区经常被忽视，那里的居民对不健康状况的投诉无人理睬。
波特是国会进步派的领导人，她因在国会听证会上对首席执行官和其他证人的严厉提问而闻名——经常使用白板来分解信息。
该席位的其他潜在竞争者包括民主党众议员李金浔，他是国会黑人核心小组的前主席。如果她参选并当选，李将是参议院中唯一的黑人女性。
范斯坦还没有说她是否会寻求第七个任期。近年来，关于她的认知健康和记忆的问题已经出现，尽管她为自己的有效性辩护。然而，她对自己未来的沉默创造了一个公开的尴尬局面——取代她的竞争正在迅速形成，尽管这位参议员仍不清楚她的意图。
希夫的集会在一个寒冷、多云的早晨举行，标志着为期两周的全州巡演的开始，包括圣地亚哥、萨克拉门托、弗雷斯诺和旧金山。
他的妻子伊芙，他的两个孩子中的一个，亚历克莎，和大卫·麦克米兰也加入了他的行列，这位议员年轻时曾指导过他们，并把他们视为家庭的一部分。
在讲述了他作为联邦检察官、州议员和国会议员的职业生涯后，希夫明确表示，他将把自己的竞选活动定位于弹劾经理和特朗普在国会的主要对手。自从他任职的当时由共和党领导的众议院情报委员会开始调查特朗普在2016年大选中与俄罗斯的关系以来，他一直是保守派——特别是特朗普——的频繁目标。
他在演讲中提到“民主”不下六次。他在自己的竞选网站上出售t恤和咖啡杯，口号是“民主很重要”他称已经宣布参加2024年总统竞选的特朗普是“一个决心摧毁我们民主的煽动家”。
“我们调查了特朗普。我们弹劾了他。我们让他承担责任，然后我们在投票箱前击败了他，”希夫在欢呼声中说。“如果共和党愚蠢到提名他，我们会再次击败他。他永远不会看到椭圆形办公室的内部，永远不会了。”
特朗普于2019年12月被弹劾，指控他滥用总统权力调查竞争对手乔·拜登并阻挠国会的调查。共和党领导的参议院宣告特朗普无罪。2021年，他成为美国历史上第一位被弹劾两次的总统，这一次是因为他在2020年大选失败后煽动了1月6日在美国国会大厦的起义。他再次被参议院宣告无罪。
希夫的其他基本问题包括应对气候变化和改善经济。
“太多的人在做多份工作，却付不起房租，买不起食品杂货，也买不起救命药，”他说。"太多的儿童在贫困和饥饿中长大。"
希夫和波特都是多产的小额资金筹集者，他们已经在竞选资金和代言费上展开较量。旧金山前民主党众议院议长南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)支持希夫，前提是范斯坦退休，波特得到马萨诸塞州民主党参议员的支持。伊丽莎白·沃伦。
民主党人预计将在这个以自由著称的州主导这场竞争——自2006年以来，共和党人还没有在加州赢得过全州范围的竞选，过去的两次参议院选举中，只有民主党人参加了11月的投票。
California 2024 US Senate contest kicks off at furious pace
LOS ANGELES -- California’s U.S. Senate race is unfolding at a furious pace, with candidates reporting seven-figure fundraising and holding competing rallies and campaign events more than a year before the 2024 primary election.
The fight for the safely Democratic seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who at 89 is the oldest member of Congress, is shaping up as a marquee match-up between nationally known rivals and is likely to become one of the most expensive Senate races in the country next year.
On Saturday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, who rose to prominence as the lead prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, gathered hundreds of supporters in a union hall parking lot for a rally in his hometown of Burbank, California, where he implored the cheering crowd, “Let’s go win this thing.”
Schiff, who announced his candidacy last month, said he was running for Senate after two decades in Congress “to build an economy that works for everyone, a democracy that will last for all time and a planet that doesn’t melt beneath our feet.”
A day earlier, Democratic U.S. Rep. Katie Porter brought her Senate campaign to Los Angeles, where she met with local leaders to discuss pollution in lower-income neighborhoods. She said such areas are often overlooked in Washington and Sacramento, where residents' complaints about unhealthy conditions go unheard.
Porter, a leader in Congress' progressive wing, built a reputation for her tough questioning of CEOs and other witnesses at congressional hearings — often using a whiteboard to break down information.
Other potential contenders for the seat include Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. If she runs and is elected, Lee would be the only Black woman in the Senate.
Feinstein has yet to say if she will seek a seventh term. In recent years, questions have arisen about her cognitive health and memory, though she has defended her effectiveness. However, her reticence about her future has created a publicly awkward dynamic — the race to replace her is rapidly taking shape, even as the senator remains unclear about her intentions.
Schiff's rally, held on a nippy, mostly overcast morning, marked the start of a two-week statewide tour, with stops to include San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno and San Francisco.
He was joined by his wife Eve, one of his two children, Alexa, and David McMillan, whom the congressman mentored as a youth and considers part of his family.
After recounting his career as a federal prosecutor, state legislator and member of Congress, Schiff made clear he would anchor his campaign to his role as impeachment manager and Trump’s chief antagonist in Congress. He has been a frequent target of conservatives — Trump in particular — since the then-GOP-led House Intelligence Committee he served on started investigating Trump’s ties to Russia in the 2016 election.
He mentioned “democracy” more than a half-dozen times in the speech. He's selling T-shirts and coffee mugs on his campaign website, with the slogan “Democracy Matters.” He called Trump, who has announced his 2024 campaign for the presidency, “a demagogue bent on destroying our democracy.”
“We investigated Trump. We impeached him. We held him accountable and then we defeated him at the ballot box,” Schiff said to cheers. “And we will defeat him again, if the GOP is foolish enough to nominate him. He will never see the inside of the Oval Office, never again.”
Trump was impeached in December 2019 on charges he abused the power of the presidency to investigate rival Joe Biden and obstructed Congress’ investigation. The Republican-led Senate acquitted Trump of both charges. In 2021, he became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, this time for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol after he lost the 2020 election. He was again acquitted by the Senate.
Schiff's other foundational issues include fighting climate change and improving the economy.
“Too many people are working multiple jobs but cannot pay the rent, afford groceries or pay for lifesaving medication,” he said. “Too many children are growing up in poverty and hungry.”
Schiff and Porter, both prolific small-dollar fundraisers, already are dueling over campaign dollars and endorsements. Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is backing Schiff, providing Feinstein retires, and Porter is supported by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Democrats are expected to dominate the contest in the famously liberal state — a Republican hasn’t won a statewide race in California since 2006, and the past two Senate elections had only Democrats on the November ballot.
