Why California GOP Senate nominee Steve Garvey won’t be going to the Republican convention

Steve Garvey, California’s Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, won’t be going to the GOP convention this month, campaign spokesman Matt Shupe told The Bee..

“It’s not a priority in this campaign,” Shupe said.

Garvey also skipped the state Republican convention in May. Former President Donald Trump is expected to be formally nominated at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which runs from July 15 to 18.

Garvey is an underdog in the U.S. Senate race against Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank. Schiff was far ahead in the latest poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, 62% to 37%.

Garvey was also far behind Schiff in cash on hand in the latest Federal Election Commission report, but did raise nearly as much as Schiff during the last reporting cycle, February 15 to March 31.

Traditionally candidates for other offices fight hard for a speaking spot at their national party’s convention.

Even a few minutes at the podium, speaking to sign-waving, cheering party loyalists, not only get the candidate national attention but often provide clips of adoring crowds that can be used in ads.

The convention is also arguably the election year’s best networking opportunity, a place where donors, power brokers, elected officials and others are all nearby, eager to make connections.

Garvey, though, has said that he’s not running as a diehard partisan.

“From day one I’ve said I never played for Republicans, Democrats, or Independents—I played for all the fans,” he said on Twitter last month. Garvey is former All-Star Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres first baseman.

When he skipped the state GOP convention, Garvey campaign manager Andy Gharakhani echoed those thoughts.

“Steve Garvey has said since the launch of the campaign that he is running for all the people, not specifically for Republicans, Democrats, or Independents,” Gharakhani said.

Garvey has said he voted twice for Trump in the past but would not say earlier this year how he may vote this time.

Trump remains unpopular in California. He lost the state by big margins in 2016 and 2024. He trails President Joe Biden, 55% to 31%, in the May 23-June poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.