Most Californians want Sen. Feinstein to resign: poll

A majority of Californians say that Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein should resign, according to a recent survey.

Feinstein, who recently returned to the Senate following a protracted absence due to health reasons, has declared that she will retire at the end of her current term in 2025.

Fifty-two percent of Californians, however, believe her resignation and the governor's appointment of a replacement "would benefit the state because a successor could better represent California’s interests in the Senate," according to a University of California, Berkeley poll, per local out KRON4. A further 56%, meanwhile, want to vote on her ultimate successor

Less than a quarter, 21%, believe she should finish her term. She further enjoys a mere 29% approval rating among voters, dropping 8 points from her February position, before her hospitalization. Sixty-seven percent agreed that "Feinstein’s latest illness underlines the fact that she is no longer fit to continue serving in the U.S. Senate."

The California senator missed 91 floor votes since her hospitalization with shingles earlier this year. Her wheelchair-bound return to the Senate prompted further concerns as to her health and it ultimately emerged that she had contracted encephalitis during her absence.

Her pending retirement has attracted a modest primary field, with California Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee all announcing their candidacies for the Democratic nomination.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, has begun to consider possible replacements should Feinstein leave before the end of her term, with talk show star Oprah Winfrey's name reportedly being floated as a potential appointee.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.