Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey advance in California Senate primary
Washington — Rep. Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey will advance in California's Senate race, CBS News projects.
Schiff, a Democrat, and Garvey, a Republican were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday's jungle primary, which had more than two dozen candidates from all parties competing for a chance at the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat.
Their most serious competitors were Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.
The campaign for the seat in deep-blue California had been a long battle. Even before Feinstein said she wouldn't seek reelection, multiple candidates had already announced they would enter the race for a seat that hadn't been open for three decades. And it may be years before another opportunity, with the state's other seat being held by Sen. Alex Padilla, a 50-year-old Democrat who was nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom to finish Vice President Kamala Harris' term and then elected to his first full term in 2022.
Participating in the crowded primary — which includes a slew of lesser known individuals — were four major candidates. Schiff had been considered the front-runner throughout the campaign. But a recent poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Los Angeles Times, had Garvey in a statistical tie for first. Lee and Porter were also making a push to earn enough support to advance to the general election in November.
Schiff and Garvey will now face off against each other in November. The same UC Berkeley poll found Schiff would be the overwhelming favorite to win that match-up. Here are the candidates that competed in the Super Tuesday race:
Adam Schiff
The 63-year-old rose to national prominence during the first impeachment trial against President Donald Trump, when he served as lead prosecutor. First elected to Congress in 2000, he's also worked atop the House Intelligence Committee and on the Jan. 6 select committee, among others. Representing California's 30th district in the Los Angeles area, Schiff has the backing of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a behemoth in California politics. At the time of the endorsement, Pelosi said Schiff "knows well the nexus between a strong democracy and a strong economy."
Steve Garvey
Garvey, 74, is a former infielder for the L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres whose entrance into the race in October injected the contest with a late dose of celebrity. More than three decades after he left baseball, the Republican positioned his bid for the Senate on returning the Golden State to its former glory, saying it's "time to get off the bench."
Katie Porter
Porter, 50, represents California's 47th District in the Orange County area. She's been in Congress since 2019, after she flipped a longtime Republican seat in an area that was once home to Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.
After arriving in Congress, she gained attention on social media for blasting corporate and government officials in congressional hearings with her signature whiteboard. Porter has the endorsement of her former law professor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Porter has a "backbone made out of steel."
Barbara Lee
Lee, 77, has been in Congress since 1998. The progressive icon, who's regularly pushed the envelope on liberal ideals in the state and elsewhere, represents California's 12th District in the Oakland area. In 2001, she was famously the only member of Congress to vote against open-ended authorization for military force following the 9/11 terror attacks. And she previously led the Congressional Black Caucus.
Who was leading in polls before Super Tuesday?
While Schiff had consistently led in recent polling, Garvey propelled his way to a "statistical tie" with Schiff in the latest poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. Garvey had the backing of 27% of likely voters, while Schiff had 25%. Porter trailed with 19%, while Lee had 8%.
Democrats haven't lost an election to the U.S. Senate since 1988, and the seat is ultimately expected to remain in Democratic control come November. But Garvey's advancement shuts Porter and Lee, two prominent progressives, out of the race months before then.
Progressives had warned that Porter and Lee would split the vote, drawing from similar bases and propelling Garvey to a second-place finish. In a matchup between Schiff and Garvey, Schiff leads by 15 points, according to the UC Berkeley polling.
The candidates will have big shoes to fill, after Feinstein's 30-year tenure. She was first elected to the seat in 1992 and remained in office until her death in September 2023.