After Dianne Feinstein: as a political giant steps down, California weighs its future

As the state's longest serving senator prepares to retire, the new leadership will determine the trajectory for the Democratic party

When Dianne Feinstein arrived in Washington in 1992, her home state of California was solidly purple and Republican Pete Wilson occupied the governor's office.

More than 40 years later, as the oldest member of Congress and California's longest serving senator prepares to retire, her state is arguably the most reliably blue in the US.