California Senate Race: What to know about the candidates

Under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates who received the most votes in the March 2024 primary advance to the November general ballot, regardless of party. That’s how California’s Senate race came to a face-off between a Democratic Congressman and a Republican former baseball player.

Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey are vying for California's first open Senate seat in eight years, left vacant September 2023 following Sen. Dianne Feinstein's death. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Democrat and former EMILY's List President Laphonza Butler to the seat shortly afterward, but she declined to enter the race and will cede to the winning candidate following the General Election.

As a result, Californians will end up voting in the race four times by the end of the year — like in the primary election ballot, November’s lists two different race terms. One is for the remainder of Feinstein’s term, ending January 2025, and the other is for a full six-year term ending 2031.

In such an overwhelmingly blue state, where a Republican has not held statewide office in more than 20 years, Garvey stands little chance of defeating Schiff in November. But Republican strategists hope Garvey's celebrity and high-profile win in March will help energize Republicans in the state and drive turnout in November.

The race became the most expensive U.S. Senate contest in state history by late-February, exceeding spending in the last three Senate elections combined by 242%, per AdImpact data. Much of it rests with Schiff, one of the party's best fundraisers, while spending from Garvey has paled in comparison. By the end of June, the baseball legend's campaign had spent $7.6 million while Schiff blew through $53 million, Open Secrets data shows.

Who are the California Senate race candidates?

Rep. Adam Schiff, Democrat

Adam Schiff speaks at a campaign event after advancing in the runoff senate race for one of California’s senate seats on March 5, 2024. Schiff spoke in front of a couple hundred people before members of the crowd began protesting the Israel-Gaza war and caused the event to end prematurely.
Adam Schiff speaks at a campaign event after advancing in the runoff senate race for one of California’s senate seats on March 5, 2024. Schiff spoke in front of a couple hundred people before members of the crowd began protesting the Israel-Gaza war and caused the event to end prematurely.

Schiff was a clear frontrunner throughout the primary campaigning season and remains so heading into November. As former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff rose to national prominence when he led Trump's first impeachment trial in 2020, and is one of the party’s most recognizable congressional leaders.

Schiff graduated from Stanford University and received his law degree from Harvard University. He first attracted national attention in during his time as assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, between 1987 and 1993, when he helped prosecute a case against a former FBI agent who spied for the Soviet Union.

He joined the California State Senate in 1996 and was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Steve Garvey, Republican

Steve Garvey, Republican candidate for the open California U.S. Senate speaks during his election night watch party in Palm Desert, Calif., on Super Tuesday., March 5, 2024.
Steve Garvey, Republican candidate for the open California U.S. Senate speaks during his election night watch party in Palm Desert, Calif., on Super Tuesday., March 5, 2024.

Garvey is a former LA Dodger and San Diego Padre and has never held political office. After retiring from major league baseball in 1988, he has remained a celebrity figure, and has worked as a motivational speaker.

Garvey played football and baseball at Michigan State University, before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969, and the San Diego Padres in 1982.

His post-baseball life has been plagued by family and financial scandals. That includes a history of at least 40 liens of more than $3.8 million from the IRS and state of California over the last four decades, as first reported by Politico, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax debt.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at kapalmer@gannett.com and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who is running for California U.S. Senate seat in 2024