California Rep. Katie Porter announced Tuesday that she would launch a 2024 Senate campaign for the seat currently occupied by longtime Senator Dianne Feinstein.

The race to unseat the 89-year-old Feinstein comes at a time when she has not yet announced her own 2024 plans and had to defend her mental acuity just last year. Feinstein has been a member of Congress since 1992, but Democrats have begun to believe she will retire rather than seek her sixth full term.

Porter is a former law professor who studied under Sen. Elizabeth Warren at Harvard Law School and is best known for her sharp questions during House oversight committee hearings and political stunts.

Katie Porter is seen reading a book during last week's House speaker vote.

Porter has also made a name for herself in the fundraising world, proving her acumen during her first election win in 2018 and again in 2022 by surviving a tough reelection bid.

"California needs a warrior in the Senate—to stand up to special interests, fight the dangerous imbalance in our economy, and hold so-called leaders like Mitch McConnell accountable for rigging our democracy," Porter said in a tweet announcing her candidacy.

Katie Porter announces her 2-24 Senate bid on Twitter.

Porter has now gotten her campaign launch out ahead of other Democrats who are likely to vie for the seat should it open, including California Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, a former longtime member of Congress.

The Senate primary could grow particularly contentious; no Democrat is seen as the clear favorite to succeed Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for more than three decades.

"Everyone is of course welcome to throw their hat in the ring, and I will make an announcement concerning my plans for 2024 at the appropriate time," Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday. She added that she is currently "focused on ensuring California has all the resources it needs" to deal with the deadly storms hitting the state.

California is currently experiencing devastating flooding that has forced thousands of people to flee their homes and killed at least 14 people since late December.

Whoever emerges from the likely competitive Democratic primary will head into the general as the heavy favorite for the seat. The last Republican to hold one of the state's two Senate seats was former Sen. John Seymour, whom Feinstein defeated in 1992.

California