Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey will compete for one of California’s United States Senate seats Tuesday.

The winner will take the seat of Sen. Laphonza Butler, a Democrat who was appointed following former Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s death, who announced last year that she would not seek reelection. A poll conducted by California State University Long Beach, the University of Southern California and Cal Poly Pomona found that Schiff – the current U.S. representative for California’s 30th congressional district – is leading Garvey – a former Los Angeles Dodgers player – by nearly 19 percentage points.

Isabella Crone-Baron, the internal vice president of Bruin Democrats, said the difference between Schiff and Garvey is stark in both candidates’ policy platforms and political history. Schiff has done consequential work in Congress, especially opposing former President Donald Trump by managing his first impeachment, she said, adding that Garvey lacks the political experience to serve as a U.S. senator.

“He’s supported Trump in the past as well, and he’s also a baseball player,” said Crone-Baron, a fourth-year history and public affairs student. “We (Bruin Democrats) don’t really believe in his qualifications to be a senator for such a huge state.”

Californians care most about the state’s economy and housing when picking their next senator, said Christian Grose, a political science and public policy professor at the University of Southern California. California is currently experiencing an affordable housing crisis due to a lack of supply, said Shane Phillips – the project manager of the housing initiative for the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.

Both candidates have suggested expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a tax credit that investors – usually banks – receive for investing in affordable housing, Phillips said. The credit, which seeks to increase the supply of affordable housing, is one of few housing policies that has bipartisan support, he added.

Schiff has also proposed the expansion of Section 8 vouchers, which help people below a certain income pay their rent, Phillips said. However, despite laws in California that make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against those with Section 8 vouchers, it can often be difficult for tenants with these subsidies to find places that will accept them, he added.

“Housing choice vouchers are by far the largest source of subsidies, demand-side housing subsidies, whereas the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is the largest source for supply side housing subsidies,” he said.

Phillips said he appreciates seeing both candidates’ interests in low-income housing supply but believes California also needs more housing of all types.

“In some ways, both policies are really focused on the low-income housing supply,” Phillips said. “We don’t actually need most new housing to be built for low-income households because we have a lot of evidence that even building market rate housing really does help relieve pressure in the housing market.”

Roxanne Hoge, the communications director for the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, said she does not believe anyone in the Senate will be able to make meaningful inroads on California housing prices. However, she added that Garvey could indirectly support the California economy by voting against federal spending and costly regulations.

The cost of higher education is an issue affecting student voters, as fees and tuition at the UC have nearly quadrupled when adjusted for inflation over the past half-century, according to CalMatters. Crone-Baron said Schiff’s stances on canceling student debt and making public California universities tuition-free address some of college-aged voters’ most pressing needs.

“Especially like a California college student going to UCLA right now, I think we would all agree that having affordable, if not free, public education would be incredible,” she said. “That’s something so many people would support.”

Grose’s poll found that Garvey is trailing Schiff by 19 points, which he said is not abnormal for a Republican running in California. A spokesperson for Bruin Republicans declined an interview with the Daily Bruin, instead providing a written statement which said Republicans should focus on other races.

“A Republican has not won a Senate seat in California since 1988,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “The race is not really worth talking about.”

Economic opportunity after graduation is another issue on top of mind for college students, with Schiff presenting more onramps to the middle class than Garvey, Crone-Baron said.

“Especially in California, the idea of affordability and being able to leave college and have a well-paying job and be able to afford a home someday or just afford to live in California period, that’s a huge issue for a lot of college students.”

The Israel-Hamas war has not had a significant impact on this race, as both candidates have taken the same staunchly pro-Israel stance, Grose said. However, he added that the war played a greater role in the primaries, when Representative Barbara Lee – the only candidate who called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza – lost to Schiff and Garvey under California’s top-two primary system.

Polls have also found that women overwhelmingly support Schiff, which Hoge said she believes arises from many pro-choice women voting solely based on their support for abortion rights. However, with abortion constitutionally protected in California, Hoge added that women should focus on voting for the best candidate for the economy – in her opinion, Garvey.

“A booming economy allows women not only to have their families thrive but to choose how to live their lives, whether to have a family, whether to stay home with that family,” she said. “In those horrible circumstances where a woman feels trapped … a booming economy allows that woman to get out, pay the rent on her own place, find a job.”

Grose said voters’ enthusiasm for Schiff and Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris – who used to hold California’s other U.S. Senate seat – could provide a boost for down-ballot Democrats by motivating voters to go to the polls.

“Democrats do seem to be a little more energized in California,” he said. “Enthusiasm for Harris is really trickling down to potentially help Democrats in the House elections.”