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 in March, setting up a general election for November.
Both Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) lost to Garvey’s outsider campaign.
After leading the polls going into the primary on Tuesday, Schiff emerged as the clear winner, but he’s in for a tough election as Garvey is not slowing down, the California Globe reported.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California appointed Laphonza Butler to the U.S. Senate seat until November, following the death of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in September of last year. The winner of a special election in November will fill the remaining two months of Feinstein’s term. Golden State voters will also be asked to select the person to serve as the office’s successor for the next six years in a separate ballot item.
Unusual as it may seem, this implies that voters will have the option of selecting one candidate to serve a two-month term in the special election and another one to run for a full six-year term in the regularly scheduled election.
The California U.S. Senate race was already among the most costly in the state’s history going into Super Tuesday.
Schiff and Garvey have been raising money ever since.
“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 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 wanted 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 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.
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, 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, 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.
