According to the Los Angeles Times, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a native of Anaheim, is “seriously considering” running for the U.S. Senate in the wake of incumbent Barbara Boxer’s decision not to seek a fifth term:
“For the past 18 years, I have focused on putting California’s working families first. From immigration reform to affordable healthcare to funding quality education, I have advocated for policies that give all families the same access to the American Dream,” Sanchez posted on her Facebook page. “Californians deserve a strong voice in Washington and I have never been afraid to speak up, which is why I am seriously considering running for the United States Senate in 2016.”
Sanchez [made] her statement hours after California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris officially kicked off her bid for the Senate seat, which will be decided in 2016.
Sanchez, 55, has represented a swath of Orange County in Congress since 1997. She won the seat in 1996 by defeating conservative incumbent Rep. Bob Dornan in an ugly race. Sanchez, who ran as a moderate Democrat, was the first person of Mexican descent to represent Orange County, long a conservative bastion, in Congress.
You can read the rest of the article here.
A few days ago, Sanchez was sphinx-like on the subject, with just an unnamed source telling MSNBC the chances of a Sanchez run were “50-50.” Now, the congresswoman herself is announcing she is “seriously considering” launching a bid for the U.S. Senate. That’s a fair distance to travel in just a few days.
Stay tuned.
I hope Sanchez runs. According to the Sacramento Bee, Harris’s ex-boyfriend and political mentor, former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, is telling Latino candidates not to run in the primary. Excuse me, but he is nobody to decide who gets to run for Senate and who doesn’t. There is no real contest in the general election because this is a Democratic state, but now they want to eliminate all competition in the primaries too? They want a coronation.
If Harris is such a strong candidate then why can’t she handle a Democratic primary is an overwhelmingly Democratic state? I don’t recall her having any real competition in her last two elections. This time she should be forced to debate other candidates and clarify her positions.