Sen. Barbara Boxer says she has yet to make up her mind about seeking a fifth term in 2016, but there’s no shortage of signs that the Democrat may be opting out.
It’s not just that she has less than $200,000 in her campaign account, compared with $3.5 million at this stage before her last election fight. Some comments from those who know the 73-year-old senator are also telling.
“She is not running for re-election,” said one longtime Democratic fundraiser with deep ties to Boxer, who spoke only on background.
State Democratic Party Chairman John Burton, Boxer’s longtime friend and mentor, says she has not informed him of her intentions. But at a Democratic Party fundraiser in San Francisco on Thursday night, co-hosted by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Kamala Harris, Burton told the crowd, “When we meet here four years from tonight, we could be looking at one California governor and one U.S. senator.”