California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a standard-bearer of liberal politics who has served in Congress for more than three decades, announced Thursday she will not run for another term. She said she wants to return to California and continue her political work through her political action committee, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Boxer, who served two decades in the U.S. Senate, said the Republican majority had little to do with her plans. She also said her age was not a factor and promised to remain in public life in California, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Boxer added that she plans to help Democrats’ 2016 candidate for president “make history.” Boxer has said repeatedly that former Secretary of State Hillary Cllinton should run for president and has fundraised for the Ready For Hillary PAC, according to CNN.
Boxer made the announcement via video on her campaign website.
There will be quite a few big name Democrats in the running for Boxer’s U.S. Senate Seat, possibly including:
- California State Attorney General Kamala Harris
- California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom
- U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.
If Sanchez runs and somehow wins there will be a huge battle for her House seat – which could be a consolation prize for Lou Correa if he loses in the Jan. 27 Special Election for the First District of the O.C. Board of Supervisors. Other possible candidates for the Sanchez seat would include new State Senator Janet Nguyen, and former State Legislators Jose Solorio and Van Tran.
Here are a few excerpts from Boxer’s bio, from her U.S. Senate website:
Boxer became a United States Senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives and six years on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. In November 2010, she was reelected to her fourth term in the Senate.
A national leader on environmental protection, Senator Boxer is the ranking member on the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW).
Senator Boxer is also the ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. She is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she chairs the first subcommittee ever to focus on global women’s issues.
Senator Boxer is also a member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate, serving as the Chief Deputy Whip since 2005.
In 2012, as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, she led efforts to pass a bipartisan transportation bill that will save or create nearly 3 million jobs nationwide. In 2010, she spearheaded the effort in the Senate to extend the Highway Trust Fund to help protect 1 million jobs in transportation nationwide.
A leader in efforts to improve America’s infrastructure, she secured passage of the Water Resources Development Act, which authorized $1.3 billion for 54 flood control, ecosystem restoration and navigation projects in California. The bill had languished for six years until she led the fight to pass it and override a veto by President George W. Bush.
And here’s a list of Senator Boxer’s accomplishments while in Congress: