Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( FYNE-styne; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who has served as the United States...
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( FYNE-styne; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who has served as the United States Senator from California since 1992, and the Senior Senator since Alan Cranston's retirement. A member of the Democratic Party, she was mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.Born in San Francisco, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. In the 1960s, she worked in city government. Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969. She served as the board's first female president in 1978, during which time the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk by Dan White drew national attention. Feinstein succeeded Moscone as mayor and became the first woman to serve in that position. During her tenure, she led the renovation of the city's cable car system and oversaw the 1984 Democratic National Convention.
After losing a race for governor in 1990, Feinstein won a 1992 special election to the U.S. Senate. She was first elected on the same ballot as her peer Barbara Boxer, and the two women became California's first female U.S. senators. Feinstein has been reelected five times and in the 2012 election received 7.75 million votes—the most popular votes in any U.S. Senate election in history.Feinstein authored the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004. She introduced a new assault weapons bill in 2013 that failed to pass. Feinstein is the first and only woman to have chaired the Senate Rules Committee (2007–09) and the Select Committee on Intelligence (2009–15), and the first woman to have presided over a U.S. presidential inauguration.
At 87, Feinstein is the oldest sitting U.S. senator. Upon the retirement of Barbara Mikulski in January 2017, Feinstein became the longest-tenured female senator currently serving; should she serve through November 5, 2022, Feinstein will surpass Mikulski's record as the longest-tenured female senator. Also, should she serve through April 13, 2021, she will become the longest-serving senator from California, surpassing Hiram Johnson.
In January 2021, Feinstein filed the initial Federal Election Commission paperwork needed to seek reelection in 2024, when she will be 91.
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Keith Ellison
Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota. A member of the De...
Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2019. He also served as the titular Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2018. In Congress, Ellison was a vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a Chief Deputy Whip. He also sat on the House Committee on Financial Services. Ellison was the first Muslim to be elected to Congress and the first African American representative from Minnesota.Ellison's profile was raised when he joined the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee in November 2016, gaining support from progressive groups and U.S. senators Bernie Sanders (of Vermont) and Chuck Schumer (of New York). His candidacy prompted renewed scrutiny of past statements and his affiliation with the Nation of Islam, which drew criticism from some moderate Democrats. Ellison was defeated by former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, who subsequently appointed Ellison Deputy Chair, a decision approved by unanimous voice vote of DNC members.On June 5, 2018, Ellison announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress, and seek the office of Minnesota Attorney General. Ellison won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican Doug Wardlow in the general election, becoming the first African American elected to statewide office in Minnesota, as well as the first Muslim in the U.S. to win statewide office.
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