With each passing day, . Loretta Sanchez sounds more and more like a candidate for U.S. Senate. She’s traveling the state, critiquing front-runner Attorney General Kamala Harris and making the case for why she’d be a strong candidate and Senator.
There was some speculation she might announce at the Democratic Foundation of Orange County luncheon, but that struck me as doubtful. A campaign announcement like that is a major media event involving the right imagery and staging, and a donor luncheon wouldn’t fit the bill.
Martin Wisckol from the OC Register was at the DFOC luncheon and had this to report:
Sounding like she’s on the verge of declaring her candidacy for U.S. Senate, Rep. Loretta Sanchez encouraged donors in Orange County to pony up Monday and explained why she would be a better choice than Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Sanchez, a Santa Ana Democrat, has been meeting with Democratic and Latino leaders throughout the state as she weighs whether to join Harris, the only major declared Democratic candidate, in the 2016 race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
“We’ve gotten a good reception up and down the state,” Sanchez told the Democratic Foundation of Orange County, a group of lawyers and business people who pay $1,000 annual dues for membership. Asked at the Hilton Irvine luncheon if she would run for Senate, she pointed out the fundraising envelopes on the tables.
“You can contribute today and if you contribute, it will get us a little closer to that point,” she said.
You can read the rest of the article here.
I’m betting she gets in. Sanchez has already displayed an ambition to seek higher office. She’s been in Congress since 1996. Although she has a pretty safe seat, she’s been in the majority for only four of her 18 years in the House – and there’s little prospect that will change. Elected officials often reach a point where they decide it time to move up or out, and she may be at that point. She’s close to the Clintons – she was the last member of the CA Democratic delegation to endorse Obama in 2008 — and may be thinking she could land an appointment if she loses the US Senate race but Hillary wins.
OC Register opinion columnist John Phillips opined yesterday on why he thinks Sanchez should go for it:
One person we’re still waiting on is Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Politico is reporting that the Santa Ana Democrat is on the verge of entering the race and could make it official before summer.
Giving up a relatively safe congressional seat to roll the dice on what would be an underdog campaign for the U.S. Senate is viewed as unfathomable by many of her Washington colleagues, but I think she should do it. Without risk, there is no reward.
Here are the top three reasons she should jump in:
You’ll have to click here to read those top three reasons.
No thanks.
She has a poll out there.