NAME — Dianne Feinstein
AGE-BIRTH DATE-BIRTHPLACE — 79; June 22. 1933; San Francisco.
PARTY — Democrat.
EXPERIENCE — Elected to the San Francisco City Board of Supervisors in 1970 and served eight years before becoming acting mayor following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone, which she announced on the steps of City Hall. Won election to two consecutive mayoral terms and joined the U.S. Senate with fellow California Sen. Barbara Boxer in 1992, dubbed "The Year of the Woman."
EDUCATION — Bachelor's degree in political science and history, Stanford University, 1955.
FAMILY — Husband, Richard C. Blum, an investor and member of the UC Board of Regents; daughter from her first marriage and three stepchildren.
WEB SITE — www.diannefeinstein2012.com
QUOTE — "I'll be going up and down the state in October. I've done a number of elections, so I pretty much know where things are. I think I have a very positive base of support in the state and, to some extent, it does cross party lines. I think I've earned respect."
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NAME — Elizabeth Emken
AGE-BIRTH DATE-BIRTHPLACE — 49; April 4, 1963; Bellflower, Calif.
PARTY — Republican.
EXPERIENCE — Spent a dozen years working in management, financial analysis and corporate operations for IBM. Has worked as a full-time autism activist for more than a decade, most recently as vice president for government relations at Autism Speaks. Ran unsuccessfully in 2010 for California's 11th Congressional District seat, finishing last among four candidates in the Republican primary, with 17 percent of the vote.
EDUCATION — Bachelor's degree in economics and political science, University of California, Los Angeles, 1984.
FAMILY — Husband, Craig Swartz; three children including an adult son with autism spectrum disorder and two daughters.
WEB SITE — www.emken2012.com
QUOTE — "Fiscal responsibility is the number one difference between Dianne Feinstein and myself. When I say that I'm going to look at every corner and every edge of our government spending, I mean it. I'm not going to take anything off the table."
