Calif. Dem: Still room for more in Senate race

There’s still plenty of time for another serious candidate to jump into the race to represent California in the Senate, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Tuesday.

Schiff, who was considered a potential top-tier candidate before he decided not to enter the 2016 race — made clear that state Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) could still use some stiff competition in their bids to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

{mosads}“It wouldn’t surprise me to see another entrant into the field,” he told reporters at a breakfast organized by The Christian Science Monitor. 

He mentioned Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) as one possible candidate who could mount a strong challenge to Harris, who is seen as the early front-runner.

“It very well could be Xavier,” Schiff said. “If it’s not Xavier, you could very well have a self-funded candidate get into the race.”

“It’s still a very long time between now and the close of filing next year,” he added. ”Depending on how people view the course of the campaign between now and filing, they may see there’s a real opportunity here.”

The outlook for a new challenge might have gotten sunnier in recent days, after Sanchez stumbled out of the gate. The congresswoman was forced to apologize over the weekend after imitating a Native American “war cry” during a state Democratic Party convention. She has shored up little support among top Democrats.