Oldest Member of Senate Is Running for Re-Election

California's Dianne Feinstein has been noncommittal for weeks now on whether she would seek another six-year term as a senator. On Monday, however, she ended the speculation. "I'm all in!" she tweeted. "Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare." At 84, Feinstein already is the oldest member of the Senate, notes the Los Angeles Times. Feinstein has become one of the chamber's most aggressive advocates of tougher gun laws—in fact, her name has surfaced often in stories about the Las Vegas shooting because she has sought a ban on the "bump stock" device used by the shooter to make his weapons more lethal.

Despite being a longtime senator from a blue state—she was elected in 1992 to fill a two-year vacancy, then elected to four full terms after that—Feinstein has come under fire of late from the left for being too centrist, reports the Hill. Among other things, progressive critics have said she should have done more to block President Trump's appointees from her position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Despite the criticism, however, no credible candidate has emerged as a potential challenger from the left, notes Politico. (More Dianne Feinstein stories.)