Despite over a quarter-century representing California in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein in a humiliating setback was denied the endorsement of the California Democratic Party on Saturday, signaling a shift away from moderates at the highest levels of the state political infrastructure.

State Sen. Kevin De León, offering the strongest challenge to Feinstein since her election, garnered 54 percent of the vote of nearly 3,000 delegates gathered here at the state convention, compared to just 37 percent for Feinstein. The state party endorsement gives candidates coveted placement on state party mailers and can raise the profile of candidates who may have a deficit in fundraising. It’s not like Feinstein has a need to raise her profile in the state, and has plenty of money to get her message out. But denying the party endorsement to a sitting U.S. Senator is a remarkable turn of events for a lawmaker who has been a fixture in California politics going back to her days as a San Francisco board supervisor, where she was first elected in the late 1960s.

Had De León hit 60 percent, he would have won the endorsement outright. As it is, neither can claim it.

Obviously, a vote at a state party convention is not a vote in a primary or a general election, but given California’s jungle primary, Feinstein and De León will probably face off in the general, and while Feinstein is leading in the polls 46-17, she is polling under 50%, and everyone knows her name, while De León’s name recognition is far less.

I think that Feinstein seriously needs to reevaluate her options.

^*Full disclosure, though I have never met her, we are 2nd cousins 1 time removed, though we have never met.