Dianne Feinstein keeps her US Senate seat in California

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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein project to win fifth full term
ABC News has projected that Diane Feinstein has won her re-election against her challenger Kevin de Leon.

WASHINGTON -- ABC News has projected that Diane Feinstein has won her re-election against her challenger Kevin de Leon.

>>> California and Bay Area election results here

>>> National election results here

Feinstein held a victory party in Oakland and spoke about winning for a fifth time as a senator. She also said she doesn't have a message for President Donald Trump.

"I would hope that some of the divisiveness could be left out and we could work as one team in this nation and get things done for the people," she said.

Feinstein was very humble when she took the stage Tuesday night, saying she was surprised after so many elections, that so many people showed up to this event. Meanwhile, the crowd of hundreds treated her like a rockstar.

Former San Francisco Mayor, Willie Brown a longtime friend spoke along with the Senator's grandaughter.

When Senator Feinstein took the stage, she spoke about Joe Biden asking her to be the first woman on the Senate Judiciary Committee after the Anita Hill hearings and how she and Barbara Boxer quote "broke the lock on power for women in the senate."

"This is such a great country and it's been factionalized and it's been trivialized with rhetoric," Feinstein told supporters in San Francisco before results were declared. "We must stop that."

Feinstein faced state Sen. Kevin de Leon, who argued that California deserved a new voice in Washington more willing to fight for progressive values.

Californians had to choose between the two Democrats during Election Day.

De Leon challenged incumbent Feinstein, who has been in the Senate since 1992. He even earned the nomination from the state's Democratic Party.

Without much campaign cash, he struggled to find a platform to introduce himself to voters and amplify his criticisms of Feinstein.

He said the state deserved a new voice in Washington, while Feinstein said she had the experience to get things done for California with the track record to prove it.

The 85-year-old is the oldest U.S. Senator, and was first elected to the Senate in 1992.

YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOTE: Bay Area June 2018 Election Day results

"What de Leon really depended on was there being enough liberal activist energy that's annoyed at Feinstein for not being sufficiently anti-Trump (and) liberal," said Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "I think she's kind of been able to deflect that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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