![Lt. Gov. and former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom at Stanford University, giving a speech in opposition to California Proposition 8 in 2009. Photo by Josh Thompson [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons.](https://i0.wp.com/mynewsla-newspack.newspackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/1024px-GavinNewsomAtStanford.jpg?ssl=1)
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer, but state Attorney General Kamala Harris is expected to throw her hat in the ring tomorrow.
The names of both politicians quickly surfaced as a possible candidates when Boxer, D-Calif., announced last week she would step down at the end of her term.
Newsom, however, put speculation to rest by announcing he has no plans to run for the seat.
“While I am humbled by the widespread encouragement of so many and hold in the highest esteem those who serve us in federal office, 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.,” Newsom wrote in a message on his Facebook page. “Therefore I will not seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2016.
“In the months to come, I look forward to doing whatever I can to help elect California’s next great Democratic Senator — one worth of succeeding Barbara Boxer and serving this remarkable state of dreamers and doers in the United States Senate.”
Newsom did not discuss his future political plans, although he will likely try to succeed Jerry Brown in the governor’s office.
Harris, 50, has not commented, but a source close to the state attorney general told the Los Angeles Times she will announce her candidacy Tuesday.
“She’s not testing the waters,” the source told The Times. “She’s charting the course. She’s in with both feet.”
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.
— City News Service