Senate Race Between Schiff And Republican Steve Garvey Called
California Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, has emerged as the victor in the U.S. Senate race against Republican candidate and former Los Angeles Dodgers star Steve Garvey. Schiff won both the race to complete the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's term, ending in January, and a separate election for a full six-year term. The Associated Press called the race for Schiff shortly after California’s polls closed at 11 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
Schiff, who has served over 20 years in the House, gained a national profile by leading the first impeachment trial of then-President Donald Trump, pushing for his removal from office. During his Senate run, Schiff portrayed himself as Trump’s top political adversary, pledging to continue pressuring the GOP presidential contender should Trump return to the White House.
Trump, meanwhile, has labeled Schiff “the enemy from within” and referred to him as a “sleazebag.”
“These are bad people,” Trump remarked. “We have a lot of bad people. But when you look at ‘Shifty Schiff’ and some of the others, yeah, they are, to me, the enemy from within.”
In late October, Trump criticized Garvey in a Fox News interview, attributing Garvey’s campaign challenges to his lack of political experience. Trump also told reporters that Garvey “made a big mistake because he hasn’t reached out to MAGA, and if he doesn’t have MAGA, he’s got no chance.”
Garvey at times appeared out of step on the campaign trail, facing hurdles with policy issues and skipping both the California Republican Party and Republican National conventions. Although he worked to connect with Latino voters, his efforts couldn’t overcome Schiff’s advantage in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2-to-1, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
In their sole televised debate, Garvey portrayed Schiff as a “career politician” primarily focused on advancing his political ambitions rather than aiding Californians.
“This man hasn’t done anything over the last 24 years on any of these things that have given us any consistency in life,” Garvey stated, adding that Schiff seemed more preoccupied with a vendetta against Trump than addressing Californians’ concerns.
During the primaries, Schiff received backlash for supporting Garvey’s spot on the general election ballot over Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), as he saw Garvey as the more beatable candidate.
Last fall, Schiff encountered controversy over claims that he has held dual primary residences in Maryland and California for over a decade, benefiting from homeowner tax breaks.
These residency issues could become problematic following Schiff’s January 2023 announcement of his Senate run. For years, Schiff has owned a large home in Maryland measuring 3,420 square feet, yet he also took a homeowner’s tax exemption on a smaller condo in Burbank, California, of 650 square feet, designating it as his primary residence.
This arrangement reportedly saved the congressman around $70 annually in California property taxes, amounting to $7,000 in total. Notably, Schiff did not seek a similar exemption for his Maryland residence.
Property records indicate that 2017 was the only year Schiff paid California property taxes via a personal check listing his Maryland address, which has added to the scrutiny, according to CNN.
A source informed The New York Post that Schiff is “rarely at his California apartment,” describing it as a modest one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit.
As Schiff faces stiff competition in the California Senate primary against Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, records reveal that Schiff marked his Maryland property as his primary residence upon purchasing it for $870,000 in 2003, as reported by the NY Post.