In the March contest for the U.S. Senate from California, Democratic candidate Rep. Adam Schiff defeated Republican challenger Steve Garvey, setting up a general election for November.
Garvey’s outsider campaign defeated those of Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.).
Schiff was the obvious winner after winning the polls heading into the primary in March, but the California Globe said that Garvey is not going to let up, so this will be a difficult election for him.
After Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away in September of last year, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of California appointed Laphonza Butler to the U.S. Senate seat until November. Feinstein’s term will end in two months when a special election is held in November, and the winner will take over. In a separate ballot item, voters in the Golden State will also be asked to choose the candidate for the position’s successor for the ensuing six years.
As odd as it seems, this suggests that voters will be able to choose between two candidates: one to compete in the special election for a two-month term, and another to compete in the regular election for a six-year term.
Before Super Tuesday, the California U.S. Senate election was one of the most expensive in the state’s history.
“Only one new poll has released in June, showing virtually no new change since May. According to the June 2024 PPIC poll, Schiff is leading Garvey 62% to 37%. However, as previously noted, PPIC polls should be taken with a grain of salt. The more accurate Berkeley IGS is due to come out soon, as are others, which should paint a more accurate picture of where things are,” the California Globe reported.
“Polling is expected to shift somewhat, especially because of Democrats now generally pulling away away from anyone attached to Biden. Schiff has been a backer of Biden, while Garvey has attempted a more middle of the road stance. He only said recently that he would be voting for Trump after the debate last week. Garvey could pull in some centrists, DINOs and republicans who were thinking of going with Biden following the Trump court decision,” the outlet added.
Schiff and Garvey have been raising money ever since, ABC News noted.
“Schiff has far out-raised his opponents in the race. Federal Election Commission filings reveal that as of the end of March, the Democrat had raised close to $35 million in campaign contributions, while Garvey has raised about $5.5 million,” USA Today reported.
“In contrast, according to FEC filings from 2018, Feinstein raised about $11.2 million in contributions during her last reelection campaign. Steve Garvey, the Republican candidate for the open California U.S. Senate seat, speaks to the media during his election night watch party in Palm Desert, Calif., on Super Tuesday., March 5, 2024,” the outlet added.
Garvey, who was a part of the 1981 World Series victory team for the Los Angeles Dodgers, says he wants to bring back the “heartbeat” of that historic state.
Garvey disregarded rivals who, in his opinion, only desired to serve half of the state while discussing why he decided to enter the campaign as a Republican in a December interview with Fox News.
“Earlier this year, I wondered, ‘Let’s see who I can get behind in California that I can support, that has my values and my commitment to this country,’ and I couldn’t find anybody. You know how strongly liberal [California has become] over the years and generations,” the former first baseman said.
“I woke up one morning and decided to see if there’s a pathway to running for the U.S. Senate,” he added.
In an effort to engage voters throughout the state, he told Fox that his campaign has been busy.
“We’ve been actively, over the first probably four months after making that decision, talking to significant people that I trust in the world of politics and then going around California, talking to the people in the north, coastal and central California, and also down south where we are,” the one-time National League MVP said.
Between 1969 and 1987, Garvey played for the Dodgers for 14 years and the San Diego Padres for 5 more.
“My whole life has been based on, you know, team building and putting teams together with comparable skills, leadership, dedication, and passion,” he said. “It doesn’t stop just with sports teams. It goes all the way into business and politics, into religion, and all those things.”
Meanwhile, Schiff is facing criticism over allegations that he has been using homeowner tax benefits to claim two primary residences in Maryland and California for more than 10 years while pushing a “Trump-Russia collusion” fiction for years during and after the former president’s term.
Further escalating the dispute, tax records show that 2017 was the only year Schiff paid property taxes in California with a personal check bearing his Maryland address.
