Rep. Barbara Lee launches Senate campaign promising to 'take on climate crisis' and stop 'MAGA extremists'

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California Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee on Tuesday announced she's running for  the U.S. Senate, and joined a small group of Democrats seeking to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

"To do nothing has never been an option for me," Lee said in the video announcing her campaign that highlighted her days as a student facing segregation on a cheerleading team, and her opposition to military authorization for the Iraq war while in Congress.

"When my high school said cheerleaders couldn’t be Black, I took them on. I worked with the NAACP, and earned my spot as the school’s first black cheerleader," Lee said in the video. "When there weren’t protections for survivors of domestic violence, I wrote California’s first Violence Against Women Act. When it was legal to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, I wrote the Hate Crimes Reduction Act."

REP. BARBARA LEE FILES TO ENTER RACE FOR FEINSTEIN’S SEAT

"For those who say my time is past, well, when does making change go out of style?" Lee said in her campaign launch video.

Lee joins California Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter in the race for the open Senate seat that Feinstein announced she will vacate at the end of her current term.

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 26: Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., attends a news conference with the Pro-Choice Caucus on the reintroduction of the "Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, January 26, 2023.  ((Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

Schiff and Porter have both attempted to position themselves as the more progressive candidate in the race. Schiff has the backing of powerful House Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, while Porter has the backing of some progressive groups and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

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Lee cited reducing poverty and easing economic burdens of the middle class as top priorities in her campaign video.

Rep. Barbara Lee  ((Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images))

"We have to take on the climate crisis, and we have to stop these MAGA extremists who think they can control peoples' bodies and dismantle our democracy. And even though there are no African American women in the United States Senate, that won't stop us either," she said. "When you stand on the side of justice, you don’t quit if they don’t give you a seat at the table. You bring a folding chair for everyone, and they are here to stay."

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Feinstein, who has represented California in the U.S. Senate since 1992, announced Feb. 14 that she would not seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation at what the oldest serving senator would do. Her potential successors did not wait for an announcement – Porter launched her campaign in January and Schiff followed with his own announcement weeks later.

"I'd like to congratulate Senator Feinstein on her historic, trailblazing career and echo the gratitude of her constituents in our beautiful state for her service," Lee said Thursday.