The California Democratic Party decided not to endorse a candidate in the state's U.S. Senate contest, an embarrassing rebuke of veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate for a quarter-century, is facing an insurgent, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon, in the party primary. Though De Leon did not get the endorsement either, his success in blocking Feinstein from receiving it shows that his calls for generational change and a more aggressively liberal path have resonated with some of the party's most passionate activists.
Feinstein has never been a state party glad-hander, while De Leon has cultivated relationships with the party's delegates. He still faces a significant challenge in trying to topple Feinstein, who trounces De Leon in all public polling and fundraising.
The party also did not endorse a Democrat for California governor, but that was expected.
