Senator Dianne Feinstein is not back at work. This means that since February, the citizens of California have only been represented in the Senate by a single senator. Which, in a 51-49 Senate, is starting to become a problem. Feinstein has already said she will be retiring instead of seeking re-election in 2024, but she had planned on finishing her term before stepping down. Three prominent Democrats have already begun campaigning for her seat. But if she doesn't finish her term, then it's going to upset the entire Senate election applecart.

Even though I live in California, I hadn't really realized how long Feinstein's absence has been. She was diagnosed with shingles (which I have heard is a particularly painful disease to contract), and she was hospitalized for treatment. She is now out of the hospital and resting at her home in San Francisco. And she is 89 years old.

Politico reported today that there are now whispers that Feinstein may not even make it back to Washington:

Three people who have visited with the senator in recent weeks or been briefed on her status say her diagnosis appears to have taken a heavy toll on her. Other confidants, including two who have seen or spoken with the senator, underscored that they are still hopeful she could serve out the nearly two years that remain in her term. But neither of those people, who addressed the sensitive matter on condition of anonymity, indicated they were confident she would be able to do so from Washington.

Indeed, aides and confidants are currently offering up no firm timeframe for her return to a chamber where Democrats are sorely missing her vote. And [Senator Dianne] Feinstein's own spokesman Adam Russell said that there was no update on her expected date to return to Washington, though at least one associate to the senator said she's "making good progress in her recovery."

Feinstein's absence has already forced her party to change how they run the Senate, where Democrats can't move President Joe Biden's judicial picks without her vote. And in California, the emerging race to succeed Feinstein is in a holding pattern of its own thanks to the uncertainty about her future -- and persistent chatter about whether Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom might be forced to disrupt the contest by appointing her successor.

Two other sentences stand out from this article: "The California Democrat has missed nearly 60 votes since her shingles diagnosis in mid-February," and: "There are currently 14 pending judicial nominees who have had hearings but have not gotten a vote in committee." Feinstein is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Californians deserve better than this. If Feinstein truly isn't going to return to Washington, then she needs to announce it and immediately resign from the Senate. If her absence is becoming a roadblock to getting President Joe Biden's judicial picks confirmed then this is not just a state issue, all Americans deserve better. Even if she feels she might recover, given enough time to recuperate, she could at least temporarily step down from the Judiciary Committee so another Democrat can take her place.

As previously mentioned, the race to replace Feinstein is already underway. Her resignation would mean (assuming it happens fairly quickly, and not too close to next year's election) that the current governor would name her successor to finish out her term. And Gavin Newsom has previously stated that if Feinstein did retire he would name a Black woman to the seat.

Since there is only one Black woman currently running, this would likely mean Representative Barbara Lee would take Feinstein's place. Which might not be a bad thing at all, for a couple of reasons. The first is that Newsom would have made good on his word. But since we're talking about age and the Senate, it must be noted that Lee will be 78 years old on Election Day 2024. If she wins the race (boosted by being an incumbent), then she will be 84 at the end of her first full term. To put this plainly: Californians would probably have an open race for a Senate seat in the next election, even if Lee wins in 2024 due to incumbency.

The choice for California Democrats is already going to be a tough one. The other two candidates running -- Representatives Adam Schiff and Katie Porter -- share virtually the same ideology as Lee. There is no "left versus center" political divide in this race, in other words. My guess is that all three candidates are progressive enough to be equally acceptable to the voters.

So if Lee gets to finish her own career with a stint in the Senate, it would only delay the open race. Open Senate races in California are rare, I should add, especially since Feinstein has set records with her tenure. Schiff is currently 62 years old and Porter is only 49. If either one of them makes it to the Senate, they'll probably be there for a while -- something which is not true for Lee.

California has only had one open Senate race since the 1990s. In 2016, Kamala Harris won the seat Barbara Boxer had held. But then she was elevated to the vice presidency by Joe Biden. This led to Gavin Newsom naming Alex Padilla to replace Harris in the Senate. Padilla has since been elected to his seat in an intervening election (in 2022). But other than the race Harris won, California hasn't had a competitive Senate race since Bill Clinton was in office. This might argue against Newsom naming Feinstein's successor, but because of Lee's age it would only delay an open race for perhaps one full term (although she could conceivably run for re-election at 84 -- after all, Feinstein was 85 when she won her last election in 2018). But while possible, it doesn't seem all that likely.

As a constituent of Feinstein, personally I wouldn't mind if Lee were appointed. I don't know if I'll vote for her next year or not, but I wouldn't even mind if she won a full term (even if I don't wind up voting for her). She is a very strong and powerful voice in Washington, and she would be an asset to the Senate. And I've waited this long to get a chance to vote for Feinstein's replacement, so waiting another term to do so doesn't seem all that big a deal.

I don't wish Senator Feinstein ill, of course. If she recovers and takes up her post in the Senate once again, I would happy to see her back. But if she isn't going to be physically up to the job then I think Californian voters deserve better than to have her seat sit empty for a prolonged period. If Democrats had a bigger majority it wouldn't be so critical (if her missing votes would never change any outcome, in other words), but if judicial nominees are beginning to stack up then that is a much more serious problem. Californians are already the least-represented in the Senate (2 senators for 39 million people), but we should at least deserve to be fully represented.

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant