Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer said Thursday he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer.
“The U.S. Senate offers a unique opportunity to serve, but I also know that we will have excellent candidates,” Steyer wrote in a blog on the Huffington Post. “I applaud and respect those running, and am confident that Californians will choose a representative who will serve them well. Given the imperative of electing a Democratic president — along with my passion for our state — I believe my work right now should not be in our nation’s capital but here at home in California, and in states around the country where we can make a difference.”
Attorney General Kamala Harris has already announced her plans to run for Boxer’s seat. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom had been considered a possible candidate, but he said he does not intend to run.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has also been mentioned as a potential candidate.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, said he is also considering making a run for the seat in 2016, saying the “opportunity to run for a California Senate seat comes around very seldom.”
— City News Service