The one-sided fight to fill Feinstein's Senate seat in California favors Schiff

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Californians will vote 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 at stake, Democrats have a chance to easily hold on to the seat in the liberal-leaning state, which hasn't had a Republican since 1988, when President Ronald Reagan was in the White House won a Senate election.

Schiff, a Los Angeles-area congressman who gained national prominence as the lead prosecutor in the first impeachment trial of then-President Donald Trump, had a lead in campaign finance and polls for months over former Republican baseball star Steve Garvey.

Still, the campaign represents a turning point in California politics, 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 will not have a woman represented in the Senate for the first time in more than three decades.

Schiff focused his campaign on national issues such as abortion rights, but continued to play a foil to Trump, calling the former president a threat to democracy. He also compared his years of experience in Congress – Schiff was first elected to the House in 2000 – to Garvey, a first-time candidate who presented himself as an outsider with a fresh perspective on dealing with the country's long-running homelessness crisis, inflation and housing crisis California positioned costs.

Garvey, a former MVP and all-time All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, describes himself as a “conservative moderate” who should not be pigeonholed into conventional political labels, such as independent and soft Democratic ones Voters are an obvious argument in a state where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1.

The race has been largely overlooked in a year in which control of the Senate hinges on a handful of competitive races, including in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Montana.

The Republican Party has struggled for years in the country's most populous state, although it still has 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, commanding the majority. Republicans have not won a statewide race in the state since 2006.

Garvey directed a final advertising push toward Latinos, who make up about a quarter of likely voters in California.

Feinstein, a moderate Democrat elected to the Senate in 1992, died in September 2023 at age 90. Laphonza Butler, a Democratic insider and former labor leader, was appointed to the seat after Feinstein's death and decided not to seek a full term this year.