Rep. Barbara Lee Officially Launches Senate Campaign in Oakland

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, of Oakland, held an official rally on Saturday in support of her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat, held since 1992 by Dianne Feinstein.

On Saturday morning at 11 am, a rally was held at Laney College in Oakland to celebrate the launch of Lee’s campaign for the US Senate.

Lee, 76, has served in Congress since 1998 and represents California’s 12th congressional district, which includes Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro. She joins US Representatives Adam Schiff and Kathy Porter in the race for a seat in the 2024 election.

“Even though this is a moment of unprecedented challenge, we the people have a chance to write our next chapter together,” the candidate told a cheering audience.

“This is a chapter in which we fight for dignity, for freedom, for justice, and together we win,” Li said, speaking from the podium with a banner in her campaign colors of yellow and green. “When we fight, we win.”

Lee is considered one of the most liberal members of Congress according to govtrack.us. She has been a major sponsor of four pieces of legislation that have been passed into law, including a bill to help orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries in 2005, a bill to allow the minting of new collectible coins in 2020, and two bills to appropriate for federal funding this year.

According to govtrack.us, about 31% of the bills she sponsors are related to health care, and 21% are related to foreign affairs. She also supported a bill introduced in 2019 to reform marijuana laws at the federal level.

On his campaign website, Lee boasts support from the California Congressional Black Caucus, Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and Deepa Sharma, chairman of the Asia Pacific Islands Democratic Party caucus, among others.