Sen. Dianne Feinstein swept to victory Tuesday in California, swatting aside a challenge from her left and jeers over her handling of allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Major networks called it for Ms. Feinstein shortly after polls closed.
Ms. Feinstein, an 85-year-old who’s served in the Senate since 1992, defeated fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon, a state senator who’d called for new blood in Washington.
The veteran senator never trailed during this year’s campaign, trouncing a crowded field in June’s “jungle primary” and then stiff-arming Mr. de Leon by at least 9 points throughout the general-election race.
She had to fend off vocal criticism from the conservative right and liberal left this fall, however.
As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mrs. Feinstein learned about uncorroborated sexual assault allegations against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in July but didn’t disclose them until the press forced her hand at the tail-end of the confirmation process.
Mr. Trump and Republicans accused her of leaking the allegations in an 11th-hour stunt, while Mr. de Leon said the senator could have pressed the justice on the allegation itself, without betraying the confidences of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
A pair of polls in the weeks before Election Day suggested the blowback was so strong that California Republicans who planned to vote in the Senate race preferred Mr. de Leon, despite his far-left platform.
The California Democratic Party also delivered Mrs. Feinstein a stinging rebuke by endorsing Mr. de Leon.
Yet the progressive who called for abolishing ICE — the federal deportation agency — and impeaching President Trump was unable to land enough punches in the lone debate between the candidates, or otherwise chip away Mrs. Feinstein’s firewall of support among Democrats who dominate the Golden State electorate.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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