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According to the Huffington Post, former Democratic state Senate Leader Kevin de Leon, who is now challenging Senator Dianne Feinstein in California for her U.S. Senate seat, is spending election funds to spread his new campaign video online.
But it's possible that's not necessary, given how striking and powerful it might prove once more people see and decide to share it:
Announcing the new campaign video on Monday, de Leon urged voters to check out "the story of how my mother risked everything to provide me with the American Dream, and how it almost didn't happen." Separately, he said he hoped people "find watching it as moving as I did making it."
As the HuffPost notes, "The nearly three-minute spot, 'Our Time,' shares the cinematic features of other ads released by progressive insurgents this election cycle. But it's likely to make the biggest waves for the tough shots it takes at Feinstein."
Speaking with the online outlet, de Leon said
[he] wants to remind Californians of Feinstein's record of centrist positions not only on immigration, but also on taxes and foreign policy, which he believes show she is out of touch with California voters. Feinstein voted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for former President George W. Bush's income and estate tax cuts, and until recently,she supported the death penalty, de Leon noted. (By 2007, Feinstein expressed regret for her vote to authorize the Iraq War.)
Referring to her 2006 vote for the Secure Fence Act, de Leon said that Feinstein "voted for a wall before Donald Trump ever started speaking about the wall."
"That's not a critique, those are her votes," de Leon said. "It's an opportunity to introduce myself to the voters of California and allow them to make the choice."
While de Leon and Feinstein are both Democrats, California's nonpartisan, top-two primary system allows for a scenario in which two candidates from the same party can ultimately face off in the general election.
Though Feinstein has held the seat since 1992, de Leon is challenging the incumbent from the left and, in fact, won the endorsement of the state Democratic Party earlier this summer.
"The ad," de Leon told the HuffPost, "is an accurate contrast -- a juxtaposition between our actions and what we do in a position of power to improve the human condition for millions of hard-working folks who deserve to become full-fledged Americans."
In the latest sign that many in the party are ready for new blood and a bolder, more progressive vision, the Democratic Party in California offered a stunning rebuke to the state's senior U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein by endorsing her primary challenger Kevin de Leon, the former State Senate leader from Los Angeles.
In a vote by the party's 330-member executive body in Oakland on Saturday evening, de Leon received a full 65 percent of the votes, while Feinstein--who had argued with the board not to issue an endorsment--received only 7 percent. Twenty-eight percent of members chose not to vote.
"Tonight we showed the world what a truly unified Democratic Party looks like," de Leon declared followig the vote. "California Democrats are leading the call for a bold agenda in Washington that puts people before politics and focuses on building a future for our state that works for everyone."
The final results from Saturday's party convention:
As the Los Angeles Timesnotes, the endorsement of de Leon "was an embarrassment for Feinstein, who is running for a fifth full term, and indicates that Democratic activists in California have soured on her reputation for pragmatism and deference to bipartisanship as Trump and a Republican-led Congress are attacking Democratic priorities on immigration, healthcare and environmental protections."
Christina Bellatoni, political reporter for the Times, exclaimed:
\u201cCan't underscore how huge this is in California politics:\n\nhttps://t.co/SkrKjttoNA\u201d— Christina Bellantoni (@Christina Bellantoni) 1531626260
Writing for The Intercept, California-based journalist David Dayen added: "The executive board has grown more and more progressive for a decade, since a new generation of activists secured spots in the party hierarchy. De Leon proved to have better relationships with party delegates than a senator who spends most of her time in Washington, and little connecting with Democratic activists back home. But the endorsement is also a resounding rejection of Feinstein's brand of centrist politics, which simply doesn't mesh well with the party's most dedicated and plugged-in supporters."
And Winnie Wong, co-founder of the People for Bernie [Sanders] group, simply pointed out just what a stunning landslide it was:
\u201cShe won 7% of the vote. \n\nhttps://t.co/pUTXpXBAXj\u201d— Fred (@Fred) 1531656743