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Republicans are seeing welcome news in California, where a Senate candidate has emerged as a viable threat to one of former President Donald Trump's longtime enemies.
Steve Garvey, a GOP candidate running to flip Senator Laphonza Butler's seat next year, has made gains in recent polls that suggest the state's general election may not be the moderate-versus-progressive battle many expected in solidly blue California but a red-versus-blue race.
A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Thursday shows Garvey in second place in a hypothetical primary, trailing behind frontrunner Representative Adam Schiff, a more establishment-aligned Democrat, by 11 percentage points. Schiff leads the crowded field with 25 percent support, followed by Garvey's 14 percent, Representative Katie Porter's 13 percent and Representative Barbara Lee's 11 percent.
Porter and Lee are both progressive Democrats. California's primary election is nonpartisan, meaning two candidates within the same party could go on to compete in the general election.
Newsweek reached out to Schiff via email for comment.
Schiff has long been on Trump's bad list, earning nicknames from the former president like "shifty Schiff" and "Liddle' Adam Schiff." The 12-term Democrat was the lead impeachment manager in Trump's first impeachment trial and served as a member of the January 6 House Committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
House Republicans have sought to punish Schiff for allegedly misleading the American public over the course of the investigations into Trump. In June, the GOP-led House censured Schiff, who has denied the allegations. When dozens of Republicans voted against the measure, Trump called for them to be primaried.
"Any Republican voting against his CENSURE, or worse, should immediately be primaried. There are plenty of great candidates out there," Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.
Garvey, a former professional baseball player who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the 60s, 70s and 80s, has quietly risen in the polls since launching his Senate bid in October. Thursday's poll echoes another SurveyUSA poll from last week that also showed Garvey in second place with 15 percent support to Schiff's 22 percent.
Garvey's showing in the most recent survey also sees a boost once factoring in undecided voters who are leaning towards a candidate. When including California voters who would choose Garvey if they had to pick among the list of candidates, Schiff's advantage shrinks by two percentage points, and Garvey's lead over Porter rises one percentage point.
Despite the good news for Garvey, he does have the lowest favorability rating among the top four candidates in the Senate race. A third of voters say they have a favorable opinion of Garvey, compared to 51 percent who said the same of Schiff, 39 percent who said the same of Lee and 38 percent who said the same of Porter.
Garvey also has the least name recognition, with 23 percent of likely voters saying they've never heard of him or don't have an opinion.
When he first announced his campaign two months ago, Garvey would not tell Reuters whether or not he supported Trump's bid to become the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee.
"Come a year from now, when I go to vote, I'll look at the candidates, and I'll vote for the one that I think is best for the country and for the people," Garvey said in October.
His competitors, however, have tied the pitcher to the former president.
"An inexperienced, pro-Trump, anti-choice Republican who refuses to call out clear threats to our democracy? For US Senate in California? HARD PASS," Lee wrote on X, formerly Twitter after Garvey announced his campaign.
In a fundraising pitch, Schiff told his supporters, "Garvey appears to be taking a cue from another celebrity Republican with no political experience, Donald Trump."
"Given Trump's determination to make sure I don't become California's Senator next year, I wouldn't be surprised to see Trump and MAGA world get solidly behind Garvey," the fundraising email said. "I will need your help to ensure Garvey and Trump feel the sting of losing on March 5, 2024."
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About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more