Kevin de Leon says he’s fine with a second-place finish in Tuesday’s primary for California’s U.S. Senate seat.
A silver-medal finish next week at least would get him into the final round, where he would have five months to convince the state’s voters it’s time to dump Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a fellow Democrat who is seeking her fifth full term.
The primary is a marquee match-up as Democrats look to use California’s unusual primary system to shut Republicans out of a number of key races, locking in control of the Senate seat and trying to gain the upper hand in races that could be critical to capturing control of the House.
California uses a “jungle primary” that allows the top two finishers in each race to advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
“We’re shooting for being in the top two. That’s all we need, and the game changes after that,” said de Leon campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland. “But in a state with almost 19 million voters and 32 candidates in this race, we aren’t taking anything for granted.”
Mr. de Leon, 51, has a prominent job as a state senator in Sacramento, but he lacks the ad-buying power and name recognition of Ms. Feinstein, a 26-year veteran on Capitol Hill.
His campaign is working to paint Ms. Feinstein, 84, as out of touch with working-class voters, and it is relishing the chance for a one-on-one debate.
Mr. de Leon is touring the state this weekend, from San Diego to the Coachella Valley to the Bay Area, looking to fend off any late-campaign charge from a smattering of GOP candidates, and Alison Harrison and Pat Harris — a pair of Democrats who say he’s still not progressive enough and could siphon off votes.
Unlike certain House races, where California Democrats are scrambling to avoid the type of intraparty vote-splitting that could benefit viable Republican foes, the state GOP didn’t endorse any Senate contenders, and President Trump isn’t heralding any of them, either.
That’s left Democratic heavyweights to jockey for a good showing on Tuesday before a general election sprint.
“I don’t think we ever had any expectation about reaching this number or that number,” said Bill Carrick, Ms. Feinstein’s longtime political consultant. “We just want to keep a solid distance from No. 2.”
A recent poll from the Public Policy Institute of California said Ms. Feinstein still maintains a commanding lead over Mr. de Leon — 41 percent to 17 percent, with 36 percent of voters undecided.
“It would be a political earthquake if Dianne Feinstein were not No. 1. That would signal a serious insurrection by the progressives that would have national implications,” said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
But, he added, “de Leon wins either way: He is either the giant-killer or the rising star. That’s not a bad outcome for a person who is not exactly a household word, even in California.”
Mr. de Leon made a splash in February by earning more delegate votes than Mrs. Feinstein during the Democratic convention, denying the incumbent their endorsement. He also has won endorsements from members of Congress, big labor unions and Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist and key donor.
Mrs. Feinstein wields support from even bigger names, including former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden, and fellow Sen. Kamala Harris.
Her campaign says voters see her clout as more important than ever, as Democrats work to keep the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign on track and fight Mr. Trump over gun policy and immigration, particularly his barrage of critiques over California’s “sanctuary cities.”
“She’s seen as a very strong voice in California in a situation where we seem to be a constant target of the administration on any number of fronts,” Mr. Carrick said.
Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the Cook Political Report, said Ms. Feinstein has all the resources she needs to romp to a general election victory.
“And while de Leon is attractive to progressives, Feinstein, ultimately, consolidates establishment Democrats, independents and some Republicans,” she said.
Hoping to beat the odds, Mr. de Leon is touting his list of state-level achievements, including efforts to drastically cut greenhouse emissions in California by 2030 and ban large-capacity magazines and require backgrounds checks for ammunition purchases as part of a 2016 legislative response to mass shootings.
More generally, he said regular voters can relate to him as someone who grew up in San Diego as the son of a single immigrant mother with a “third-grade education,” compared to Mrs. Feinstein, who is among the wealthiest members of Congress.
“I think that more and more people are recognizing that their representatives in Congress, whether it’s in the Senate or House, don’t necessarily share their experiences,” Mr. Underland said.
The Feinstein campaign argues that Mr. de Leon is a bit of a career politician himself — he’s served in the state legislature since 2006 — even if he’s positioning himself as the fresh outsider.
“There no question that that’s his narrative,” Mr. Carrick said. “Just ’cause it’s his narrative, it doesn’t make it true.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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