In a surprise announcement this week, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is calling it quits in the upper chamber after having served as California’s senior Senator for 21 years.
Vacating her seat at the end of her term in 2016, Boxer declared “I am never going to retire. The work is too important. But I will not be running for the Senate in 2016. I have to make sure the Senate seat stays progressive. That is so critical. And I want to help our Democratic candidate for president make history.”
The announcement already has Democrats scrambling to recruit a replacement candidate with less than two years to build a multi-million dollar warchest in the most expensive state in the union.
The move also has implications for the Republican Party. Whether rumored presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who failed in her 2010 bid for the Senate, will opt for this seat over a White House may pull the only female Republican presidential candidate out of the race before it begins.
Boxer announced he plans in an interview with Zach Rodham, her grandson. Rodham is also Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nephew. See the video below:
