Longtime U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announces she will not seek re-election

By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced on Tuesday that she will not seek re-election at the end of her term in 2024, clearing the path for a hotly contested race among California Democrats for her seat.

Feinstein, who was first elected in 1992, has faced years of pressure to resign given that she is the oldest member of Congress at 89. Last year, media outlets reported that her memory was rapidly deteriorating.

She was expected to serve this year as president pro tempore, the ceremonial head of the Senate and third in line to the presidency, a position typically given to a senior senator of the majority party.

However she declined to seek election for the position, months after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a fellow Democrat, declined to say whether he had confidence in her ability to serve.

Instead, 72-year-old Senator Patty Murray was installed in the job.

Several Democrats had already announced or hinted at runs even before her announcement, including Representatives Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.

California reliably votes Democratic and the state is home to many up-and-coming politicians who will eye Feinstein's seat.

Feinstein is a trailblazer in U.S. politics: the first woman to serve as mayor of San Francisco, first woman to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee and now the longest-serving female senator.

California will hold its primary elections on Mar 5, 2024.

While the California Senate seat is expected to remain safely in Democratic hands, 2024 races in states like Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Arizona all present challenges to the Democrats' ability to hold onto their Senate majority going into 2025 because of Republicans' strength there.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Richard Cowan, Alistair Bell and Tim Ahmann)