Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey has secured a U.S. Senate showdown with Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff on a shoestring budget and with a light campaign schedule
Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey secured a U.S. Senate showdown with Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff on a shoestring budget and with a wispy campaign schedule, but he now faces a daunting question: What’s next?
Garvey, a perennial All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, expressed optimism about the campaign to come for the seat once occupied by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Still, heavily Democratic California hasn’t elected a GOP Senate candidate since 1988, a year after Garvey retired from baseball. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state by a 2-to-1 margin, and Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the Legislature and congressional delegation.
“They say in the general election that we’re going to strike out,” Garvey, a first-time candidate, said of his doubters. “Know this: It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
It’s a rare opportunity for the GOP to compete in a marquee statewide race in this Democratic stronghold.
Garvey was able to consolidate the Republican vote and sidestep two established Democratic House members, Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, to gain one of two slots on the November ballot with Schiff. His first job will be raising money to operate in a state with some of the nation’s most expensive media markets, but he’s likely to find it a tough sell with donors inclined to spend their money in more competitive states, with control of the House and Senate on the line.
Garvey celebrated with cheering supporters at a hotel in Palm Desert, his hometown, where he warned Schiff not to underestimate him despite the state’s Democratic tilt. He said he would run a campaign that would appeal across party lines, focusing on inflation, the state’s unchecked homeless crisis and rising crime rates in cities.
California puts all candidates, regardless of party, on the same primary ballot and the two who get the most votes advance to the general election.
