Former baseball star sneaks into the battle for Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat in California USA election

Steve Garvey, the 75-year-old former baseball star, will try to surprise the California Republican. The former Dodger athlete has advanced to the Nov. 5 special election in the Super Tuesday primary. It would then be the case that the seat of the legendary Dianne Feinstein, who died last September and had held the position since 1992, would be chosen. Congressman Adam Schiff became a central figure in the first impeachment process against Donald Trump. A rival to beat in a contest.

Schiff surpassed one million votes this Tuesday night (34%) while Garvey registered 933,000 (30%) with 39% of the vote. They had a very close primary on the Democratic side. Schiff was facing two fellow congresswomen, progressives Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, who won 17% and 9%, respectively. In California, all candidates compete in the same process and the two candidates with the most votes on the night advance, even if they are from the same party.

This style of election has led Democrats to try new strategies to minimize campaigns where they expose themselves to friendly fire. For this reason, Schiff’s campaign invested nearly $10 million in advertising against Steve Garvey in recent weeks. In his ads, the congressman links the Los Angeles Dodgers star to Donald Trump and right-wing policies. This raised the public profile of Garvey, who entered the race in October last. Along with the campaign, he also signaled that Garvey has a rival to beat in a liberal stronghold.

Congresswoman Porter, who became popular for her didactic interventions in the House of Representatives, accused her benchmate of using that strategy to avoid competing with her in November. Lafonza Butler, a union activist, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last fall to fill the vacancy left by Feinstein. Butler announced he would not run, leaving Schiff, Porter and Lee in a close race.

Polls suggest it will be an easy campaign for Schiff, a former prosecutor who for years represented the city of Burbank, north of Los Angeles. Polls suggest he has 53% compared to Garvey’s 38%. California has 22 million registered voters. 43% registered as Democrats compared to 24% as Republicans. Californians have not elected a local conservative party to federal office since 2006.

Garvey celebrated the results at an event in the city of Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. “This was the first of a double game,” the new politician told the press. “The second game could be terrific… I am sure it will be very exciting for all of you. Now there will be competition,” added the candidate.

Biden and Trump won comfortably

California, the biggest prize of the night, was awarded quickly and without surprise. It took less than 15 minutes for television stations and the AP agency to announce Joe Biden and Donald Trump as the winners in the primary after schools closed. After the state, only Alaska’s results remain until the end of the day.

California is sending 424 Democratic delegates to the party’s convention, which will be held in Chicago in August. The state does not apportion delegates between candidates. A winner-take-all principle prevails. Biden is 679 away from reaching the magic number of 1,968 to secure the nomination.

On the Republican side, Trump is closing in on his third presidential nomination thanks to 169 delegates at stake. Projections suggest the former president could secure his party’s nomination on March 12, when the states of Georgia, Washington and Mississippi hold their primaries.

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