WASHINGTON _ California's 2018 Senate race will be a Democrat-on-Democrat battle for the second consecutive election after no big-name GOP candidates stepped up to challenge Sen. Dianne Feinstein before the filing deadline.
California's jungle primaries pit the top two vote-earners, regardless of party, against one another in the general election.
State Sen. Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles is challenging Feinstein and running a campaign that touts more progressive credentials that he says better represent the political mood of the state.
Feinstein, 84, is seeking her fifth full term. Her campaign had $10 million cash on hand in December, per her Federal Elections Commission profile.
De Leon had just $360,000 by the end of 2017.
The ripple effect from not having a statewide candidate on the ballot this November could harm vulnerable Republican House incumbents who may see depressed GOP turnout at the ballots.
The race for California governor also looks poised to pit two Democrats against each other.
For the first time in nearly 30 years, Feinstein did not secure the California Democratic Party's endorsement.
De Leon garnered 54 percent of the vote at the party convention in February, falling short of the 60 percent threshold needed to earn the nod.
Longtime Feinstein adviser Bill Carrick said the campaign team chalked that up as a win.
"What we literally did was try to make sure that we ran a good campaign for the endorsement process, but our most imperative goal was to make sure he didn't get it," Carrick said of de Leon. "I think everybody was pretty sober about getting to 60."
De Leon interpreted the result differently.
"The outcome of today's endorsement vote is an astounding rejection of politics as usual, and it boosts our campaign's momentum as we all stand shoulder-to-shoulder against a complacent status quo," de Leon said in a statement in February. "California Democrats are hungry for new leadership that will fight for California values from the front lines, not equivocate on the sidelines."
