Current:Home > FinanceLopsided fight to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat in liberal California favors Democrat Schiff-InfoLens
Lopsided fight to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat in liberal California favors Democrat Schiff
View Date:2025-01-10 03:57:35
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Californians are voting Tuesday to fill the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein after a low-key contest dominated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff.
In a year when control of the Senate is in play, Democrats are favored to easily hold the seat in the liberal-leaning state where a Republican hasn’t won a Senate race since 1988, when President Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
Schiff, a Los Angeles-area congressman who rose to national prominence as the lead prosecutor in then-President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, held an edge for months in campaign financing and polling over Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey.
Still, the campaign represents a turning point in California politics, which was long dominated by Feinstein, former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, former Gov. Jerry Brown and a handful of other veteran Democratic politicians. The contest also means that California won’t have a woman representing it in the Senate for the first time in more than three decades.
Schiff shaped his campaign around national issues including abortion rights while continuing to play a foil to Trump, calling the former president a threat to democracy. He also contrasted his years of experience in Congress — Schiff was first elected to the House in 2000 — against Garvey, a first-time candidate who positioned himself as an outsider with fresh perspective to deal with California’s long-running homeless crisis, inflation and housing costs.
Garvey, a former MVP and perennial All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, calls himself a “conservative moderate” who shouldn’t be buttonholed into conventional political labels, an obvious pitch to independent and soft Democratic voters in a state where registered Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats nearly 2-to-1.
The race has been largely overlooked in a year when control of the Senate will turn on a handful of competitive races, including in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Montana.
The Republican Party has struggled in the nation’s most populous state for years, though it retains pockets of strength in rural areas, the Central Valley farm belt and parts of Southern California.
Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the Legislature and congressional delegation by commanding margins. Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in the state since 2006.
Garvey aimed a final advertising push at Latinos, who make up about a quarter of likely voters in California.
Feinstein, a centrist Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 1992, died at 90 in September 2023. Laphonza Butler, a Democratic insider and former labor leader, was appointed to the seat following Feinstein’s death and decided not to seek a full term this year.
veryGood! (3872)
Related
- Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
- This summer was the hottest on record across the Northern Hemisphere, the U.N. says
- Maya Hawke jokes she's proud of dad Ethan Hawke for flirting with Rihanna: 'It's family pride'
- Angels use body double to stand in for Shohei Ohtani in team picture
- 'Climate change is real': New York parks employee killed as historic drought fuels blazes
- Watch Kim Kardashian Advise Mom Emma Roberts in Chilling American Horror Story: Delicate Trailer
- Prosecutors in Trump aide's contempt trial say he 'acted as if he was above the law'
- Will he go by plane or train? How Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia for another meeting with Putin
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Take the Day Off
- Florida lawmakers denounce antisemitic incidents over Labor Day weekend: 'Hate has no place here'
Ranking
- NY forest ranger dies fighting fires as air quality warnings are issued in New York and New Jersey
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Moms for Liberty co-founder to state Commission on Ethics
- Legal fights over voting districts could play role in control of Congress for 2024
- Arkansas blogger files suit seeking records related to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ travel, security
- Taylor Swift gifts 7-year-old '22' hat after promising to meet her when she was a baby
- Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Give Glimpse Into Their Summer Vacation With Their Kids—and Cole Sprouse
- The Great Salt Lake is shrinking rapidly and Utah has failed to stop it, a new lawsuit says
- Chris Jones' holdout from Chiefs among NFL standoffs that could get ugly in Week 1
Recommendation
-
Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
-
This summer was the hottest on record across the Northern Hemisphere, the U.N. says
-
49ers sign Nick Bosa to a record-setting contract extension to end his lengthy holdout
-
Ask HR: If I was arrested and not convicted, do I have to tell my potential boss?
-
Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
-
Authorities try to flush out escaped murderer in suburban Philadelphia manhunt
-
Russian missile turns Ukrainian market into fiery, blackened ruin strewn with bodies
-
Meet Apollo, the humanoid robot that could be your next coworker