THE BUZZ: END OF AN ERA — There was a time when the Bay Area’s congressional delegation was the embodiment of female power on Capitol Hill. The curtain is falling on that era. That generation of powerful California women in Washington — a group led by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein — has been leaving office. And many of those leaders are, or could be, replaced by men. Barbara Boxer’s former Senate seat is now held by Sen. Alex Padilla, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed in 2021 after Kamala Harris resigned from the chamber to become vice president. When San Mateo Rep. Jackie Speier retired from Congress at the start of this year, Rep. Kevin Mullin took over the gig. And Sam Liccardo, Evan Low and Joe Simitian are already positioning themselves to run for Silicon Valley Rep. Anna Eshoo’s seat after she announced she’s stepping down after next year. There’s also a good chance that Rep. Adam Schiff could be elected to Feinstein’s former Senate seat, though he faces a spirited challenge from Rep. Katie Porter, both in terms of fundraising and recent polling. (Sen. Laphonza Butler, who’s serving the rest of Feinstein’s term, isn't running to keep the seat.) "The year of the woman was more than 30 years ago — and I'm a little disheartened that we don't have a deeper bench by now of women to fill this giant vacuum of powerhouse women who were there really from the beginning,” said Robin Swanson, a veteran California Democratic consultant based in Sacramento. Boxer, who’s retired and living in Palm Springs, noted that the number of women in Congress has dramatically increased in recent decades. There are 25 women in the Senate today, compared with just six when she and Feinstein were elected in 1992, which was famously dubbed the “Year of the Woman.” She and Feinstein would laugh about that label, she said, because there were so few women on Capitol Hill in the early 1990s that they felt it was “such an overstatement.” Capitol insiders have been speculating for months about when Pelosi and San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren could follow their peers into retirement. Pelosi isn’t retiring this year (much to the chagrin of some ambitious SF Democrats) but her decision to step back from the demanding speaker role signifies her iconic generation’s fade from the limelight. Palo Alto City Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims, the only woman vying for Eshoo’s seat against at least five Democratic men, is emphasizing that fact out of the gate, saying that having women in Congress is crucial in the post-Roe era. “We’ve had women helming the Bay Area congressional delegation for decades. It’s been something many people take for granted,” she said. Advocacy groups are focused on keeping women in office in the Bay and California as a new generation emerges. EMILYs List, one of the nation’s largest recruiter of female candidates, is backing BART board member Lateefah Simon for Rep. Barbara Lee’s Oakland seat. “EMILYs List is proud to work with women leaders in the Bay Area region and throughout California to fill the big shoes our trailblazers leave behind and bring dynamic representation to Congress,” said Danni Wang, deputy director of campaign communications. San Franciscans can’t stop talking about who might replace Pelosi, even though she’s sticking around for at least one more cycle. State Sen. Scott Wiener has built a campaign-in-waiting and support among female leaders. Christine Pelosi, an attorney and Pelosi's daughter, is another potential contender. Boxer said she wasn’t too concerned about the loss of a generation of Bay Area women leaders. After all, Pelosi is still in town. “The reason I’m not alarmed about it is because: A) Nancy is there and she’s going to make it her business to not only fight for California every minute… but also take these new women under her wing.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. PLAYBOOK TIP LINE — What seats are you watching in 2024 ? Give us a ring or drop us a line. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on Twitter —@DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. | 
