SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Two leading California unions have endorsed state Senate leader Kevin de León’s
primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The Service Employees International Union backed de León on Feb. 13, saying that he “speaks up for California values” such as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, immigration and environmental justice. The California Nurses Association announced its endorsement Feb. 12, with co-president Malinda Markowitz saying de León “demonstrated outstanding political courage and leadership” in shepherding a bill that would have set up a state single-payer health-care system through the Senate last year, “at a time when 15 million Californians still have no health coverage, or pay for premiums and still can’t afford to get the medical care they need.” De León (D-Los Angeles), who has been state Senate president pro tem since 2014, faces an uphill battle against Feinstein, who has served in the Senate since 1992 and as of Jan. 1 had raised more than 25 times as much money as her challenger. But due to California’s open-primary system and heavily Democratic electorate, the two might end up running against each other in November if they both outpoll the Republicans running in the June primary. Read more
