OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Democratic candidate Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican candidate Steve Garvey emerged victorious in California’s U.S. Senate race, setting up a general election for November.
Firmly Democratic California will likely send Schiff to the U.S. Senate the following year due to Garvey’s second-place finish.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who found it difficult to balance Schiff’s mainstream appeal and Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) progressive message, lost to Garvey’s outsider campaign.
After leading the polls going into the primary on Tuesday, Schiff emerged as the clear winner.
The big picture: Californians will not have a female senatorial representative for the first time in many years.
The victor of the November election will take over Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) former post. Feinstein passed away in September of last year at the age of 90.
Appointed to the post but opting not to run for a full term was Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.).
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey will advance in California’s Senate race for the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat, CNN projects https://t.co/8ET0d8OOdL
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 6, 2024
🚨Breaking News: Republican Steve Garvey has officially advanced to the November general election against Adam Schiff in the 2024 California Senate Race. pic.twitter.com/exml97mUxv
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) March 6, 2024
Garvey, who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series in 1981, says he wants to revive the “heartbeat” of that once-great state.
In a December interview with Fox News, Garvey explained why he entered the race as a Republican while dismissing opponents who he said only want to represent half of the state.
“Earlier this year, I wondered, ‘Let’s see who I can get behind in California that I can support, that had 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 run for the U.S. Senate,” he added.
He told Fox that his campaign has been active as he attempts to connect with voters all across the state.
“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.
Garvey played 14 years for the Dodgers and another five for the San Diego Padres between 1969 and 1987.
“My whole life has been based on, you know, team building and putting teams together with comparable skills, leadership, dedication, passion,” he said. “It doesn’t stop just with sports teams. It goes all the way into business and politics, in religion and all those things.”
If elected, Garvey said on his first day, he would try to meet with every other senator to begin building a rapport with them.
He also said he was in California when it was the “heartbeat of America” but said that it’s now become a “murmur” because of financial and safety challenges faced by those living there.
“The challenges of hardworking Californians getting up every day and knowing that, under our economy now and inflation, that by the time the month’s over, they could be losing seven, eight, $900. And that’s when they’re even managing their daily lives well,” Garvey said. “The food and the gas and education for their children, clothing … all of these things are due to rising inflation so much that it’s tough to stay above water.
“What I’ll focus on is getting back to a free market, capitalism, that will target small businesses,” he added. “You know, there’s so many people that want to start businesses and small businesses. Small businesses are the foundation of the business world, especially here in California. So many of those people who wanted to start small businesses have left California.”
Meanwhile, Schiff — who pushed a ‘Trump-Russia collusion’ hoax for years during and after the former president’s term — is under fire over claims that he has been claiming two primary residences in Maryland and California for more than ten years while taking advantage of homeowner tax breaks.
Tax records reveal that 2017 was the only year Schiff paid property taxes in California using a personal check bearing his Maryland address, adding fuel to the controversy.
