The three Democrats campaigning to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) are striking out at Republicans in a bid to secure support from the California party organization.

Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Katie Porter (D-CA) all appeared at the annual state party convention in Los Angeles this weekend, where they tried to curry favor with potential backers and discussed policy goals.

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The candidates strongly criticized policies advanced by the Republican Party and former President Donald Trump and discussed matters ranging from abortion to corporate influence in politics.

Adam Schiff

Schiff, one of Trump's most vocal opponents, thanked the Women’s Caucus on Friday “for saving democracy during these trying times.

“We are in the fight of our life next November,” Schiff told the Women’s Caucus. “Literally, democracy is on the line, and all of our rights along with it. We must make sure that hateful man never goes near the Oval Office again."

Schiff gained national attention as the lead prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment trial. He became the chairman of the House intelligence panel in 2019, looking to charge Trump for abusing the powers of the presidency to solicit foreign interference in the 2016 election.

“If our democracy isn’t delivering for Americans, they’ll look for alternatives, like a dangerous demagogue who promises that he alone can fix it,” Schiff said about Trump in a campaign statement.

Katie Porter

Porter hit back at Republicans who are eager to pass policies favoring the oil and gas industry, calling out Washington for appeasing the “desires of billionaires and corporate special interests while leaving our families behind.”

Porter noted that she had never taken donations from corporate PACs, federal lobbyists, or “Big Oil, big banks, or Big Pharma” executives.

Oil and gas companies are often some of the top donors to Republican congressional leaders. According to campaign financial disclosures, the Congressional Leadership Fund and the Senate Leadership Fund have received large donations from Chevron Corp, The American Petroleum Institute, and other big oil companies.

“I am not afraid to shake up the status quo and do things differently,” Porter said at the convention. “We need to shake up Washington.”

Barbara Lee

Lee, who is considered the underdog of the race, boosted her track record of fighting for abortion access as GOP-led states enact bans across the nation.

This year, Lee and other Democrats reintroduced the Each Act, a bill that would reverse the Hyde Amendment, which was made permanent by the Supreme Court in 2017, banning federal dollars from being used to pay for abortions.

“The Hyde Amendment denies access to abortion care for low-income women, who are primarily women of color,” Lee said in a March interview with Democracy Now! “So I introduced the EACH Act. No one thought we could get it done, but I got close to 180 co-sponsors, which repealed the Hyde Amendment. And then, I’ve been able to keep it out of the appropriations bills for the last two years, because that’s where the Hyde Amendment takes effect.”

At the convention, Lee highlighted her fight for women's rights, including writing California's first Violence Against Women Act to protect victims of domestic violence.

“But I want you to look at what I have done as a progressive Black woman, both in the Legislature and in Congress, to know that I’m going to stand my ground,” Lee said on Friday. “I have convictions and courage. And it’s an indicator of what I will do in the future.”

The election to replace the oldest member of Congress is expected to be intense, and California elections are unique in that the state uses a top-two primary system, meaning all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot.

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Schiff and Porter both raised millions of dollars in the first three months of the year, with Schiff coming in at $24.7 million and Porter coming in at $9.5 million, according to Open Secrets. Lee had $1.2 million cash on hand as of March 31.

“The way that Democrats can win nationally and across the country in state legislators is by being for progressive policies,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), the first member of Generation Z in Congress, said at the convention.