State Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, in the Capitol last year.
Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

When you lose a statewide primary by 44 percent to 12 percent, it’s hard to believe things can get worse. But Democratic state Sen. Kevin de León is finding out that yes, they can.

Despite being shellacked last week by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, de León managed to hang on to second place and a spot on the November ballot. Speaking before the election, Jon Underland, the former state Senate president’s campaign spokesman, said all de León was looking for was a runner-up finish because “after the primary, everything changes.”

But that doesn’t mean they’ll change for the better.

On Monday, for example, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon came out with a full-throated endorsement of Feinstein, picking her over de León, his fellow Los Angeles County lawmaker and legislative leader.

“Senator Feinstein is the strongest candidate to stand up to Donald Trump and is a tireless champion for our state and our progressive values,” Rendon, D-Paramount, said in a statement. “In this time of instability, California needs Senator Feinstein’s leadership in Washington now more than ever.”

Despite their years of working together, Rendon went out of his way to take a hard shot at de León when he called Feinstein a champion of “our progressive values.” De León’s whole argument for his longshot campaign against Feinstein has been that the former San Francisco mayor is just too moderate and Republican-friendly to represent California’s liberal leanings.

And then there are the election results. While there’s nothing wrong with losing in an election where the top two finishers both advance to the fall campaign, it’s another thing entirely to get slaughtered.

Not only did Feinstein win the state with 44 percent of the vote, she trounced de León in his home county, 49 percent to 15 percent. And to cap off the state senator’s disaster, the unofficial results show Feinstein with a 40 percent to 31 percent lead in de León’s own 24th State Senate District.

As for de León’s appeal to the state’s growing number of Latino voters: Imperial County, which is more than 80 percent Latino, went for Feinstein by nearly 2-1.

Like de León, Rendon is Latino. But that didn’t matter when it came time for an endorsement.

On election night, de León told supporters that “it’s clear that we’ve done what we needed to do. A majority of Californians want new leadership in Washington.”

But between now and Nov. 6, what de León has to do is show those voters that the new leadership should be him. Looking at the election results, it’s not at all clear they’re willing to be convinced.
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