Good morning.

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Today’s introduction is written by Adam Nagourney, our Los Angeles bureau chief.

Just over two weeks ago, Kevin de León, the Democratic leader of the California state Senate since 2014, announced he was challenging Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, in a primary.

Two days later, the Los Angeles Times reported that 140 women — legislative aides, lobbyist and state lawmakers — had signed a letter attesting to an atmosphere of pervasive sexual misconduct in the capital. That has set off a two-week examination not only of the male-dominated culture of Sacramento but also of what is, by every account, a flawed system for reporting sexual harassment in the Senate and the Assembly..

Within hours of the letter, Mr. de León put out a statement applauding the “the courage of women working in and around the Capitol who are coming forward.” Later he announced that the Senate had hired outside consultants to look into allegations of sexual misconduct, and to review the policies and procedures now in place for collecting sexual harassment complaints.