US Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the longest serving female US senator in history, died Friday at 90. Feinstein, who had announced that she would not run for reelection in 2024, had been facing health issues the past few years, including shingles, encephalitis, Ramsay Hunt syndrome (causing face paralysis and other sensory issues), and possible dementia.
Feinstein, born in 1933, started her political career on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1970. She became president of the board in 1978, which allowed her to become acting mayor after the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Feinstein won election as mayor in 1979, where she served until 1988.
Feinstein ran for California governor in 1990, losing to Republican candidate, US Senator Pete Wilson. Feinstein made a political comeback in 1992, winning Wilson’s Senate seat in a special election in a year that saw six other women elected to or currently serving in the Senate (often termed ‘The Year of the Woman.’)
Her death leaves the Senate with a 50-49 Democratic majority. Until a replacement is named, only one Democratic senator needs to vote against his or her party to block legislation. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has vowed to appoint a black woman to replace Feinstein in the Senate. While one black woman, Bay Area Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D) is already running for the seat, Newsom has said he will not appoint anyone currently in the race for the seat, which he says will create an unfair advantage against the other candidates, which include Democratic House representatives Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
