In becoming the 15th Democrat U.S. Representative to announce she was leaving the House in 2022, Jackie Speier on Monday set in motion what is sure to be a hard-fought battle to succeed her among the party’s progressive wing.
"It will be a far-left wing donnybrook," Jon Fleischmann, editor of the much-read online "Flash Report" on California politics, told Newsmax.
Fleischmann noted that in Speier’s heavily Democrat 14th District (San Mateo County), all would-be congressmen are "hard left."
The early favorite is state Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin, a one-time district aide to Speier and son of a popular former assemblyman. Speier has yet to say whether she will endorse anyone but if she does, Mullin would be the odds-on favorite for her blessing.
Also reportedly eyeing the race is state Sen. Josh Becker, whose current district — most of San Mateo County and much of northern Santa Clara County — encompasses much of the 14th District.
He is the founder of the community organizing colossus Full Circle, which funds organizations dealing with the environment and health.
Another possibility is San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Canepa, also considered a strong progressive.
Speier, 71, got her start working for the district’s first-ever congressman, Leo Ryan. In 1978, when Ryan was killed while investigating the diabolical Rev. Jim Jones and his cult in Jonestown, Guyana, Speier took five bullets. She survived her wounds, but lost a special election bid to succeed Ryan. She came back in 1980 to unseat a 20-year veteran of the San Mateo County board of supervisors.
Following a stint in the state legislature, Speier finally made it to Congress in 2008 following the death of Democrat Rep. Tom Lantos.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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