How Gaza ceasefire became a focal point in Barbara Lee’s US Senate campaign

Lee’s supporters hope her advocacy for ending the Gaza war will help her in California’s Super Tuesday primaries.

Washington, DC – Three days after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States House of Representatives convened to authorise a military response, with legislation that would serve as the legal basis for the invasion of Afghanistan and the broader “war on terror”.

The vote was overwhelming: 420 to one. The sole dissenter was Representative Barbara Lee, a California Democrat.

On Tuesday, Lee — at the age of 77 — will face possibly the greatest electoral test of her career when California holds a primary for its open Senate seat.

The congresswoman is running in that race on her credentials as an antiwar candidate. This time, however, her focus is on achieving a ceasefire in Gaza — a position she says distinguishes her from the rest of the field.

Lee is in competition against more than 20 other candidates, including prominent Democratic representatives like Adam Schiff and Katie Porter. The stakes are high: Schiff, Lee and Porter have all opted not to run for reelection in the House, in order to focus on their Senate prospects.

That means this year’s Senate primary could deal Lee her first electoral defeat in 26 years. But her candidacy shines a light on the range of Democratic views towards Israel’s war in Gaza — a spectrum that could translate into fractures as the party seeks unity at the ballot box.

Amar Shergill, the chair emeritus of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, is among those supporting Lee’s Senate bid.

Americans — and specifically Democrats — have increasingly voiced concern about the dire conditions in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians.

A February poll from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that half of Americans felt Israel had “gone too far” in its military campaign. That number, however, shot up to 62 percent among Democrats alone.

But many mainstream members of the Democratic Party have long resisted calls for a permanent ceasefire, instead affirming support for Israel’s military offensive. They include President Joe Biden, who has only recently articulated hopes for a ceasefire to pause — though not definitively end — hostilities.

Lee’s supporters hope that her stance on the issue will carry her to a shock victory on Tuesday. Public opinion polls show her trailing her Democratic rivals Schiff and Porter, as well as Republican contender and former baseball player Steve Garvey.

Foreign policy is rarely a top priority at the ballot box, but Shergill said voters are increasingly drawing parallels between injustices in Palestine and inequality at home.

A beacon for progressives

“The youth is inspired by her moral clarity. We see immigrant communities who understand that what’s happening in Palestine could happen to their relatives in ancestral homes around the world,” Shergill told media.

The Senate race in California — the state with the largest population in the country — is scheduled to arrive on Super Tuesday, a crucial date in the US electoral calendar. More states hold primaries on that date than on any other.

But Butler has declined to run in the 2024 election, leaving the Senate race without an incumbent. An open Senate seat in California, a Democratic stronghold, is a rarity. Whoever wins will spend a six-year term in Congress.

Most states have partisan primaries, where candidates from different parties compete on separate slates to claim their party’s nomination for the general election.

But California holds what is known as a “jungle primary”: Candidates, regardless of political party, compete together in the first round of voting and the top two vote-getters face off in the general elections.

So a Democrat like Lee not only has to compete against members of her own party but Republicans and independents as well.

Garvey, the Republican baseball star, has led a dark-horse campaign that has stunned political observers. Several polls show him in a tie with — or surpassing — Porter for second place.

But even if Garvey makes it to the general elections, Democrats are widely expected to retain the Senate seat in November.

Schiff, an ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is currently leading the race. Considered a favourite of the party establishment, Schiff developed a national profile after he led an impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

Porter, meanwhile, is a left-wing lawmaker who rose to prominence with her consumer advocacy and criticism of major corporations.

On domestic issues, Lee, Schiff and Porter share similar views, albeit with different approaches. Even Schiff — who is considered the centrist in the race — supports progressive priorities like universal healthcare and the Green New Deal climate plan.

But the war on Gaza is a critical point of divergence. Schiff, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is a staunch defender of Israel. Last month, he voted with the Republican majority in favour of a $17.6bn aid bill for Israel. Most Democrats had opposed the measure, which ultimately failed, because it did not include assistance for Ukraine.

Porter, who has been in Congress since 2019, is not known for her foreign policy positions but is also a vocal supporter of Israel. In December, she called for a ceasefire with a caveat: that Hamas be removed “from operational control of Gaza”.