The only face-to-face debate between Rep. Adam B. Schiff and former Dodger Steve Garvey in California’s deadly U.S. Senate race Tuesday will feature a number of national issues, from immigration to the economy to escalating conflict. Most of the exchanges were controversial. In the Middle East, reproductive health care and global warming.
But the sharpest exchanges concerned the two candidates’ vastly different positions on former President Trump.
Mr. Schiff, a Burbank Democrat with more than 20 years of experience in the House and a commanding lead in the polls, has pushed Mr. Garvey to promote more conservative values in Washington than those of Californians. He was chosen as an inexperienced Trump supporter.
Schiff quipped that Californians “don’t want a MAGA mini-me in a baseball uniform.”
Garvey, a Palm Desert Republican with no political experience but a well-known star as a Major League Baseball star, said Schiff was too preoccupied with party politics and revenge against Trump and was a poor choice for California voters. He suggested that he was not concentrating on the most important issues.
“How can you think about and focus on one man every day when you have millions of people in California to take care of?” Garvey said. “I think that’s disrespectful.”
The debate was tough from the beginning. When Mr. Schiff, in his first remarks, accused Mr. Garvey of turning a blind eye to Mr. Trump’s worst impulses (whom Mr. Schiff said “wanted to be a dictator from day one"), Mr. Garvey said that in a 1980 presidential debate, Mr. Borrowing a famous line from Ronald Reagan that was used at the meeting, he answered: “see you.”
In another exchange on immigration, Mr. Schiff accused Mr. Garvey of supporting Mr. Trump’s mass deportation plan, but Mr. Garvey said, “One of the two of us is honest and candid.” said.
“I agree with that,” Schiff retorted.
The debate was the last chance for the two candidates to square off in public before voters decide which candidate to choose in November’s election. Californians will be asked to vote twice in the Senate race. The first is to choose Mr. Schiff or Mr. Garvey to serve out the remainder of late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s final term, which ends in early January, and, separately, to serve out the remainder of the final term of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, which ends in early January. The question is who should serve. -Year Senate term.
Tuesday’s debate was the first since Mr. Garvey and Mr. Schiff finished in second place with the most votes in a more crowded primary, with Mr. Schiff facing Democratic rival Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine. Defeated Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Oakland). Polls show Mr. Schiff with a significant lead over Mr. Garvey.
President Trump casts shadow over immigration debate
The moderators of the fast-paced, hour-long debate, hosted by KABC-TV in partnership with Univision and the League of Women Voters, asked Schiff and Garvey multiple questions about immigration and border security.
Schiff said the country needs to “manage its borders” with more personnel and technology to interdict people and drugs. But we also need a “comprehensive immigration policy” that treats people humanely and provides relief for farmworkers and undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.
He also accused Garvey of supporting Trump, saying his plan is mass deportations that would devastate the country and immigrant communities.
“When you say you support Donald Trump, you’re voting for mass deportation,” Schiff said.
Garvey said his campaign is focused on the Latino community. He also said border security needs to be significantly strengthened. He said Schiff has created an “existential crisis” by supporting “open borders” alongside President Biden.
“What we have to do is secure the border. We have to finish the wall. We have to bring back ‘Remain in Mexico,'” Garvey said. “We need to strengthen border security. We need to go back to building facilities to detain illegal immigrants at the border and building a judicial system to bring them to justice.”
With record numbers of people stranded at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Biden-Harris administration, Republican lawmakers across the country, including Garvey, are calling for border security to be made a Democratic campaign responsibility.
“Many Americans are concerned about immigration,” said Mindy Romero, founder of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California. “The reason Republicans are talking so much about this is because it works.”
Romero said Garvey is unlikely to win the Senate race given California voters are generally very depressed, but Garvey remains the second-highest voting Republican after Trump. He said that what Mr. Garvey says about immigration could still be important to Republicans.
“We are not a monolith in California, and we don’t all agree on this issue,” Romero said. “Mr. Garvey’s words and actions could help motivate and mobilize Republicans.”
Garvey had a hard time expressing a clear position on abortion.
The hosts tried unsuccessfully to clarify Mr. Garvey’s position on abortion rights.
He personally opposes abortion and has said he would not support a federal abortion ban.
“I’m a Catholic,” Garvey said Tuesday night. “I believe that life exists during pregnancy. I believe that God breathed a soul into this fetus. Therefore, I stand by my policies on abortion and support all Californians. I also swear.”
But Garvey also promised to “support the voices of Californians.” He said he would support an amendment to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution that two-thirds of Golden State voters supported in 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
If Mr. Garvey is “listening to the voices of Californians as he claims he is, then he will hear their voices loud and clear,” Mr. Schiff said. “Californians want a national right to reproductive freedom and don’t want the government to make that decision for women.”
Schiff has long been a vocal advocate for access to abortion services, and on Tuesday said he supports establishing a national right to access abortion.
A University of California, Berkeley Institute of Government poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times in early August found that more than half (52%) of California voters surveyed said they would be a strong voice in support of abortion rights. He said he would select a person who would become the The “Senate” was very important to them.
Differences in the role of government in the economy
The difference in how Mr. Schiff and Mr. Garvey viewed the role of government became clear when faced with the question of how to deal with rising prices for goods and housing.
“Our situation is much worse than it was four years ago,” Garvey said. He said he supported more free-market policies and denounced what Schiff described as “schiffflation.”
Garvey said housing is a local issue and more federal regulation could lead to government “over-involvement.”
Asked how he would help renters, he said it would help by “reinvigorating” the U.S. economy.
Schiff said he supports more direct federal spending on housing and an expansion of Section 8 vouchers, a government subsidy that allows eligible renters to find housing with private landlords. Ta. He also proposed a “renter tax credit,” similar to a tax credit that allows homeowners to waive mortgage interest payments.
Garvey said he supports tariffs on imports shipped by “companies that threaten the success of American businesses.” But he said he would like to see domestic taxes lowered to foster more small businesses and reduce the need to import foreign products.
Schiff said he does not support President Trump’s “flat tariffs” because they would lead to higher prices for consumers. He said he supports “targeted tariffs” when China dumps cheap goods into the country “to try to put American companies out of business.”
Feinstein’s legacy sparks debate
Throughout the debate, the political specter of the woman whose seat Schiff and Garvey are vying for loomed large.
KABC anchor and host Mark Brown first brought up that Feinstein authored the assault weapons ban in 1994 and told Garvey that if elected, he would do something about guns. I asked if it was.
“I believe in the Constitution and I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe it will never be overturned and we should not try to overturn it,” Garvey said. said. “While I feel sorry for those who may have been victims of shootings, I think the most important thing is to maintain the integrity of the Second Amendment by having more stringent background checks than are currently available. ” and to enable people to protect themselves. ”
Schiff said Californians need leaders like Feinstein who are willing to “stand up” to the National Rifle Association.
“I support a ban on assault weapons. I support widespread and universal background checks. I support a ban on extended ammunition clips and my own bill to strip the NRA of immunity. Deaf,” Schiff said. “Mr. Garvey was asked just a few weeks ago if he supported any gun control measures, and his answer was clear: “No, that’s not what Californians want.” Californians want leaders like Dianne Feinstein to stand up to the NRA. ”
Later in the debate, Feinstein returned to the issue of environmental regulations and whether Schiff would ease water restrictions on farmers.
Schiff said he would not “support watering down regulations” and, like Sen. Feinstein, would “look for opportunities to create wins for both farms, cities, and the environment.”
Garvey said environmentalists in the state need to work with farmers, and he is a “consensus builder” who can make that happen. He called water “California’s platinum problem,” but one Schiff says he doesn’t know how to solve it.
Schiff later cited Feinstein’s name in the economic field, saying he recognizes the economic hardships many Californians are having and said he is “a community leader in every region of this Golden State.” He said he intends to work with “Mr. Feinstein’s model” with “and other stakeholders.”
“Mr. Schiff, you’re not Dianne Feinstein,” Garvey said. “I remember when this state was the heart of America, and now it’s just a rumbling noise.”
In response, Mr. Schiff said that Mr. Feinstein is a friend and that he would never “pretend to be her equal” because she is a “giant.” But he suggested he was much more like Feinstein than Garvey.
“For the past 37 years, while Mr. Garvey has been signing baseballs, I’ve watched presidents and governors of both parties sign my bills,” Schiff said.
back to playing cards
After the debate, Mr. Schiff and Mr. Garvey got into a verbal spat with reporters and returned to another politician, Mr. Trump, who was not present.
Schiff said it was clear from the debate that Garvey was “pro-Trump” and his policy objectives.
“He’s in favor of states being able to ban abortion. He’s against any form of gun safety legislation. It’s to turn off the oil. These are the things that have come out of Project 2025 and President Trump. “It’s a view, but there’s no consensus in California,” Schiff said.
Garvey said he felt unfairly tied to Trump.
“People know we’re very different people,” he said.
He said Schiff’s attempts to “cast me on the far right” were unacceptable because “people know I’m a conservative moderate.”
Garvey declined to say whether he would vote for Trump in November, but acknowledged that he had voted for Trump for the third time in this year’s primary.
