Rep. Barbara Lee in California Senate race says minimum wage should be raised to $50

Candidates vying for California's U.S. Senate seat met onstage Monday for a relatively tame second debate, where California's cost of living was raised as a key issue.

In a standout moment, Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, former mayor of Oakland, discussed a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $50 per hour.

Lee joins other Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter and Republican Steve Garvey in what has become a tense race to fill the seat left vacant by Sen. Dianne Feinstein. She passed away back in September 2023 after being in office for more than 30 years. Schiff has maintained a comfortable lead in the polls for the last few months, and a recent poll from the University of Southern California describes a "deadlocked" race for second place between Garvey and Porter.

Lee has made little progress breaking out of fourth place in the polls, but her stance on minimum wage still captured national attention.

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Rep. Barbara Lee defends her $50 minimum wage proposal

In a broadcast of the debate published by KTLA 5, Moderator Nikki Laurenzo asked Lee about her proposal for a $50 an hour federal minimum wage, pointing out that the federal minimum wage is $7.25. The other candidates called for $20-$25 an hour for minimum wage, Laurenzo said.

"Can you explain how that would be economically sustainable for small businesses?" the moderator asked.

Lee said she owned and a ran a small business for 11 years. According to her website, she founded a mental health services organization called the Community Health Alliance for Neighborhood Growth and Education.

"I know what worker productivity means, and that means that you have to make sure that your employees are taken care of and have a living wage," Lee said at the debate.

She cited a United Way report that an income of $127,000 for a family of four is "just barely enough to get by." (United Way Bay Area did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for a copy of the report).

"Just do the math—of course we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage, you're talking about $20, $25," she said. "Fine, but I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage."

Other politicians weigh in on federal minimum wage debate

Twenty-two states, including California, raised minimum wage at the beginning of 2024. Unions representing certain California industries negotiated a higher minimum wage, bringing fast food workers in at $20 per hour this year and health care workers moving up to $25 per hour over the next 10 years. Pizza Hut laid off all delivery drivers in the state ahead of the increase.

In the senatorial debate, Republican candidate and former baseball player Garvey gave his stance on federal minimum wage:

"Minimum wage is where it is and should be. If you look at what California has done to fast food franchises right now...that's going to increase costs for hardworking Californians to go to a franchise," he said.

Other Republicans weighed in social media, poking fun at the extreme proposal.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) jeered on X "Why not $500 per hour?"

A third debate is slated for Feb. 20, organized by NBC4 and Telemundo 52. The California primary election is March 5.

Contributing: Sara Chernikoff

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Barbara Lee weighs in on minimum wage, defends $50 idea