# Can Elder replace senator Feinstein? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 5, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143 "2021-09-05T18:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/21 "2021-09-13T02:45:04Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > To be fair, that was largely due to Martha Coakley running You could have stopped right there. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/22 "2021-09-15T18:38:16Z")
Fortunately, this option is obviated, at least for now. I was pleased with the results and the margin, the turnout (about 10.1 million out of 22 million or so eligible, or about 46%) was reported as large, and it probably is for a weird off-year election, so I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with that. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/23 "2021-09-15T21:53:17Z")
I would say the answer to the title is, no. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/24 "2022-04-16T05:46:16Z")
> **[Colleagues worry Dianne Feinstein is now mentally unfit to serve, citing...](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/dianne-feinstein-senate-17079487.php)** > > Four U.S. senators, including three Democrats, as well as three former staffers and a... Her term runs out in January, 2025 ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/25 "2022-04-16T13:16:18Z")
Well, the answer to the OP is a definitive “no” regardless of Feinstein’s mental capacities. But if the article is true, she should resign. In a 50-50 Senate, an unexpected Democratic vacancy could cause havoc. The even split also means that she has no choice but to show up to all committee meetings and floor votes. She’s on tremendously important committees – Judiciary, Appropriations, Intelligence and Rules. In the past, a declining Strom Thurmond or Robert Byrd could dodder around their office and miss hearings and votes without much impact. That’s not the case today. California allows the Governor to appoint a replacement Senator, who must run in the next general election date for the remainder of the term. Feinstein may want to wait until after November so that her successor will have a full two years of incumbency before facing voters. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/26 "2022-04-16T13:31:18Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > She’s on tremendously important committees – Judiciary, Appropriations, Intelligence and Rules. She could at least step down from those committees. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/27 "2022-04-16T15:23:00Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Feinstein may want to wait until after November so that her successor will have a full two years of incumbency before facing voters. Well I’m sure it could be several weeks earlier as it takes time to prepare ballots, etc. Does anyone know the exact date? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/28 "2022-04-16T15:47:00Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Feinstein may want to wait until after November so that her successor will have a full two years of incumbency before facing voters. She may wait until November to see if Newsom wins re-election. If he doesn’t then she should definitely retire before the Pub governor takes office. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/29 "2022-04-16T15:58:44Z")
If Republicans were to win the California Governor’s office and Feinstein refused to step down before Newsom left office, I think her staff might consider the _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ solution. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/30 "2022-04-16T16:55:39Z")
Nostalgia time! Some of us “Elder” Californians can remember way back. Dianne Feinstein got her start in politics in the 1970’s as a member, and then president, of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. When Dan White assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, it was Feinstein who first discovered Milk’s dead body, and Feinstein who announced the shootings to the Board that same afternoon. From the Wikipedia article: > [@](#): > > White fled the scene as Feinstein entered the office where Milk lay dead. She felt Milk’s neck for a pulse, her finger entering a bullet wound.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscone%E2%80%93Milk_assassinations#cite_note-newyorker_cia-14) Horrified, Feinstein was shaking so badly she required support from the police chief after identifying both bodies.[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscone%E2%80%93Milk_assassinations#cite_note-flintwick-15) Feinstein then announced the murders to a stunned public, stating: “As President of the Board of Supervisors, it’s my duty to make this announcement. Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed. The suspect is Supervisor Dan White.”[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscone%E2%80%93Milk_assassinations#cite_note-timesofharveymilk-16)[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscone%E2%80%93Milk_assassinations#cite_note-17)[[18](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscone%E2%80%93Milk_assassinations#cite_note-18)] ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/31 "2022-04-16T17:16:45Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > If Republicans were to win the California Governor’s office They will not. Not 100% certain of course, nothing is. But close enough to it for government work. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/32 "2022-04-16T19:05:07Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > When Dan White assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, it was Feinstein who first discovered Milk’s dead body, and Feinstein who announced the shootings to the Board that same afternoon. I looked this up and was wondering why Dan White only served 5 years, which seemed low even for San Francisco. Then I realized that his attorneys presented the Twinkie defense. Unlike the jurors in San Francisco so many people don’t realize the bad things which can happen from eating too many Twinkies (and I don’t mean fatness). > **[Twinkie defense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie_defense)** > > "Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catch-all term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression, a symptom of which was a change in diet from healthy food to Twinkies and other sugary foods. Contr... ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/33 "2022-04-16T22:31:41Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > They will not. Not 100% certain of course, nothing is. But close enough to it for government work. Last three CA gov elections: 2018 - D+23.8 2014 - D+20.0 2010 - D+12.9 ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/34 "2022-04-16T22:42:12Z")
Oh yeah, Newsome also defeated a recall effort by ~23 points half a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/35 "2022-04-16T22:53:28Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Last three CA gov elections: > 2018 - D+23.8 > 2014 - D+20.0 > 2010 - D+12.9 Yeah, that’s the thing - Newsom crushed the last two elections (including the recall) against absolutely craptacular Republican candidates. If the Republicans throw out another lousy candidate by CA standards, something which is entirely possible seeing as a good chunk of R primary voters are highly polarized, they will lose again by 20+ points. However if they put out a decent opponent, say some charismatic moderate Hollywood Republican who likes gays and Latinos as long as they don’t move next door, then… They’re still likely to lose by 10+. It’s not that Newsom is massively well-liked. But he also isn’t hated overall and the Republicans are in a deep hole in the populous areas of CA. Political landscapes can shift quickly, but it isn’t happening this year. Likely not this decade. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/36 "2022-04-16T23:00:13Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Unlike the jurors in San Francisco so many people don’t realize the bad things which can happen from eating too many Twinkies (and I don’t mean fatness). Except the twinkie defense was NOT that the Twinkies were the cause of his mood change but rather a symptom of it. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/37 "2022-04-17T00:37:37Z")
Yeah, it’s not THAT long ago that California voted for a moderate Republican Governor. But the problem for the California Republican Party is the same issue with any desiccated object – as it shrivels, it grows more concentrated. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/38 "2022-04-17T16:47:48Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > as it shrivels, it grows more concentrated. Like Mitch McConnel. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/39 "2022-04-17T17:22:06Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > > [@flurb](#): > > > > Feinstein may want to wait until after November so that her successor will have a full two years of incumbency before facing voters. > > Well I’m sure it could be several weeks earlier as it takes time to prepare ballots, etc. Does anyone know the exact date? [148 days before the Primary Election date](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC§ionNum=10720.) - for 2022, that was January 10. However, the Governor has the discretion to call a special election before the next scheduled election for Feinstein’s term, which would be in 2024. In other words, Feinstein could resign now, Newsom could appoint a replacement, and the replacement would serve the remainder of her term without there being an election for that seat before then. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143/40 "2022-04-17T18:15:13Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Yeah, it’s not THAT long ago that California voted for a moderate Republican Governor. Gee whiz, was there anything extraordinary about that candidate, or was he an ordinary, run of the mill, moderate Republican? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-elder-replace-senator-feinstein/950143.md?page=3)