California Attorney General Kamala Harris became the first high-profile Democrat to announce that she plans to enter the 2016 race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate.
Harris, California's top prosecutor, made the announcement Tuesday on her website and said she wants to build on the "legacies" of previous California's members in the U.S. Senate. Hours later, another Democrat, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, indicated she also might join what could be a crowded field in the race to succeed the 74-year-old Boxer, who has held the Senate seat for more than two decades.
"I'm excited to share with you that I'm launching my campaign to represent the people of California in the United States Senate," Harris said in a statement. "From my first days as a prosecutor in Alameda County, to my work as San Francisco District Attorney to my current service as California Attorney General, I have worked to bring smart, innovative and effective approaches to fighting crime, fighting for consumers and fighting for equal rights for all.
"California has been incredibly well served by the transformational leadership of Senator Boxer and the continued service of Senator Feinstein. With your help, I hope to build on their legacies in the U.S. Senate."
Harris, 50, a former two-term San Francisco district attorney, is a personal friend of President Barack Obama and attracted national attention when she helped negotiate a settlement with major mortgage lenders and secured extra funding for California.
She has been widely viewed as an eventual candidate for governor or U.S. senator.. Boxer's announcement last week that she will not seek a fifth term threw open the door for California Democrats seeking to climb the political ranks.
The disclosure of her plans through sources Monday afternoon came just a few hours after a potential rival, California Lt. Governor and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, said he would not run for the open seat created by Boxer's retirement next year.
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Democrats are well positioned to retain the seat in a state where the party controls every statewide office and both chambers in the Legislature.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Tom Steyer, a retired San Francisco hedge fund billionaire who sought to make climate change an issue in the midterm elections, are also considered potential candidates for the seat.
Sanchez, of California's 46th Congressional District, announced on her Facebook page Tuesday that she is "seriously considering" a Senate run.
As the state's chief law enforcement officer, Harris has focused her crime-fighting efforts on cross-border gangs that she said are increasingly engaged in high-tech crimes such as digital piracy and computer hacking to target businesses and financial institutions.
In 2010, Harris was elected California attorney general, becoming the first woman and the first minority to hold the office. She is the daughter of an Indian mother and black father.
Newsom's exit provided encouragement for others contemplating a run for the Senate, and his statement did nothing to dampen the idea he would run for governor in 2018 -- when the term of current Gov. Jerry Brown ends.
"I know that my head and my heart, my young family's future, and our unfinished work all remain firmly in the state of California -- not Washington, D.C. Therefore I will not seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2016," said Newsom, who has three young children.
Newsom launched a brief campaign for governor before dropping out in 2009. He is best known for ordering the San Francisco city clerk in 2004 to ignore state law at the time and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"They're longtime allies," said political analyst Larry Gerston. "Given that, it makes sense that two big shots would divide and conquer."
