California dreaming: Republican Steve Garvey in line to beat two big-name Democrats in Senate jungle primary

Republican candidate Steve Garvey, a former baseball star, took over the second place spot in California’s 2024 Senate race, surpassing two high-profile House Democrats in the running.

California Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, Barbara Lee, and Adam Schiff are vying to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat. Garvey launched a Republican bid for the Senate in October, a bold move for a political outsider in a state dominated by Democrats.

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Garvey passed Porter, who had been trailing the race’s front-runner, Schiff, for second place in a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. While Schiff holds 28% of likely California primary voters, Garvey, the most prominent GOP candidate, gathered 19%. Porter mustered 17%, followed by Lee at 14%.

Garvey retired from Major League Baseball in 1987 following a career as an all-star infielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres that spanned 19 years.

Despite launching his campaign over two months ago, Garvey has made limited media appearances. This week, he toured multiple cities in Southern California to address issues important to his campaign, but the blitz received little attention and limited media access.

Garvey toured the Salton Sea on Tuesday to learn more about the inland sea and stopped at a beef processing facility in Brawley to discuss the demand for more middle-class jobs, FOX40 News reporter Eytan Wallace documented.

On Thursday, Garvey toured a portion of the California-Mexico border with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), one of San Diego’s Republican lawmakers.

Matt Shupe, a Republican consultant who has worked in various statewide campaigns and is a spokesman for Garvey’s team, told Politico the Republican candidate has been focused on fundraising and will ramp up campaigning efforts in 2024.

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“We need to raise money to compete against these career politicians that have raised tens of millions of dollars,” Shupe said. “Moving into next year, you’re going to see him continue to campaign around the state and take his message to voters all around California.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Garvey, Schiff, Porter, and Lee for comment.