Billionaire left-wing donor Tom Steyer announced Wednesday that he is endorsing State Sen. Kevin de Léon (D-Los Angeles) over incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in the primary race for U.S. Senate in California.

De Léon has trailed badly in the polls and in fundraising. However, he has attracted the support of many in California’s vocal and powerful left-wing activist community, which views Feinstein as too accommodating towards President Donald Trump.

Steyer has spent tens of millions of dollars on an advertising campaign promoting the idea that Trump should be impeached.

“I think he’s the kind of young progressive that reflects California and would be a very strong advocate for our state nationally,” Steyer said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

He also added: “I have nothing bad to say about Dianne Feinstein.”

The San Francisco Chronicle noted the irony of De Léon turning to a wealthy billionaire for support (original link):

U.S. Senate candidate Kevin de León likes to needle his opponent Sen. Dianne Feinstein for living in a “mansion surrounded by a wall.” But he welcomed the endorsement Wednesday of one of Feinstein’s wealthy San Francisco neighbors, billionaire activist and former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer.

The San Jose Mercury-News noted that the impact of Steyer’s endorsement remains to be seen, and will depend on how much money he spends to promote De Léon.

Because of California’s “jungle primary” system, in which the top two finishers advance to the general election regardless of party, Feinstein and De Léon will likely face off in November again no matter who wins on June 5.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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