--- title: Loretta Sanchez Dabs in California Senate Debate description: U.S. senate candidate Loretta Sanchez just brought the dab from the dance floor (or victory dance) to the debate stage. canonical: https://time.com/4521054/loretta-sanchez-dab-debate/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-06T14:08:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:37:23.102Z og:title: Yes, a U.S. Senate Candidate Dabbed at the California Debate og:description: Since this is 2016, no one should be surprised og:url: https://time.com/4521054/loretta-sanchez-dab-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4001426be9798308/6988a8e8a988cab07d6b9a9f/loretta-sanchez-dabbed-california-senate-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: loretta sanchez dabbed california senate debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Yes, a U.S. Senate Candidate Dabbed at the California Debate twitter:description: Since this is 2016, no one should be surprised twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4001426be9798308/6988a8e8a988cab07d6b9a9f/loretta-sanchez-dabbed-california-senate-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Yes, a U.S. Senate Candidate Dabbed at the California Debate  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Oct 6, 2016 2:08 PM UTC  California U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, right, speaks as fellow candidate California Attorney General Kamala Harris listens during a debate, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, in Los Angeles. California U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, right, speaks as fellow candidate California Attorney General Kamala Harris listens during a debate, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, in Los Angeles.Mark J. Terrill—AP  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Oct 6, 2016 2:08 PM UTC U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez [just brought](http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-what-s-loretta-sanchez-doing-in-the-1475725380-htmlstory.html) the dab from the dance floor (or victory dance) to the debate stage. Sanchez ran over the allotted time for her closing statement in the California Senate debate on Wednesday, and she struck a dab-like pose after the moderator made her finish. Her opponent, Kamala Harris, widened her eyes in surprise, the Los Angeles _Times_ reports. “So, there’s a clear difference between the candidates in this race,” [Harris said](http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article106335907.html), before launching into her own statement. “There definitely is,” Sanchez responded. > [](https://twitter.com/AdrianNBCLA/status/783887665951236096) For those unfamiliar with the move: [The dab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dab%5F%28dance%29) involves leaning the face into one’s elbow, sometimes while straightening the other arm. The California Panthers are [into it](http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25467958/why-are-cam-newton-panthers-doing-the-dab-a-history-of-the-dance-craze), and once Jason DeRulo taught James Corden how to pull it off in a club ([watch here](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6753744/jason-derulo-james-corden-carpool-karaoke-dabbing-broadway) if you’d also like to learn). A Harris spokesperson [tweeted](https://twitter.com/Click%5FCA/status/783878334950158338) afterwards: “Her dab was as weak as the rest of her debate performance.” A Sanchez spokesperson offered [another explanation](https://twitter.com/luis%5F%5Fvizcaino/status/783910191175786497): “And this is why Millennials are supporting Loretta Sanchez for U.S. Senate.” \[[_LA Times_](http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-what-s-loretta-sanchez-doing-in-the-1475725380-htmlstory.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4521054/loretta-sanchez-dab-debate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4521054/loretta-sanchez-dab-debate/"},"headline":"Yes, a U.S. Senate Candidate Dabbed at the California Debate","datePublished":"2016-10-06T14:08:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:37:23.102Z","description":"Since this is 2016, no one should be surprised","url":"https://time.com/4521054/loretta-sanchez-dab-debate/","keywords":["Newsfeed","2016 Election topic","politics","States"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4001426be9798308/6988a8e8a988cab07d6b9a9f/loretta-sanchez-dabbed-california-senate-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4001426be9798308/6988a8e8a988cab07d6b9a9f/loretta-sanchez-dabbed-california-senate-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"loretta sanchez dabbed california senate debate","caption":"loretta sanchez dabbed california senate debate","creditText":"Mark J. 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