As he sought to wrest the California Democratic Party’s endorsement away from longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein, her upstart challenger, Kevin de León, made an impassioned argument to state delegates Saturday that the time had come for a new generation of leadership in the Senate.

While he was not able to earn their endorsement outright, he did secure enough votes (54%) to prevent one for Feinstein, who received just 37 percent of the delegates’ votes.

In an aggressive speech at the California Democratic Party convention, De León said Democrats deserve a progressive senator who fights on the “front lines,” who doesn’t “equivocate on the sidelines.”

“I’m running for US Senate because the days of Democrats biding our time, biding our talk, are over,” said De León, who is the leader of the California Senate. “Leadership comes from human audacity, not from congressional seniority.”