Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff wins California’s Senate seat

Adam Schiff – the incoming junior senator from California – is pictured. Schiff, a Democrat, beat Republican Steve Garvey. (Myka Fromm/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Alexandra Crosnoe
Nov. 5, 2024 8:38 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 6 at 1:44 a.m.
Democrat Adam Schiff won the race for California’s United States Senate seat, defeating Republican Steve Garvey.
Schiff, a current U.S. Representative for California’s 30th Congressional District, won the seat in a result consistent with polls, which put Schiff ahead by 19 percentage points. He campaigned on a platform of combating climate change and expanding access to affordable housing, higher education and voting. The Associated Press called the race for Schiff shortly after polls closed in California around 8 p.m.
[Related: Adam Schiff, Steve Garvey face off for California’s senate seat]
A Republican has not won a Senate seat in California since 1988. Schiff had over 55% of cast votes as of 8:20 p.m., according to the Associated Press.
Schiff rose to prominence after several public disagreements with former President Donald Trump. He served as a House impeachment manager in 2020, arguing the former president coerced the Ukrainian government into investigating one of his political enemies – the Biden family.
“These are bad people,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News in October. “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.”
Congressional Republicans introduced a resolution to censure Schiff in 2023 because of his role in the impeachment trial. After the measure failed, Trump said that any Republican who voted against it should face a primary challenge.
Schiff received the endorsements of prominent national and California lawmakers, including former U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Steve Garvey, a former Los Angeles Dodgers player, had not previously held political office before declaring his candidacy. He campaigned on a platform of reducing homelessness and crime rates, lowering the cost of living in California and securing the southern border.
Garvey received an endorsement from the San Diego Police Association. Notably, Trump declined to endorse him, saying Garvey had made a “mistake” in not reaching out to him.
Schiff will fill the seat of Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler, who opted not to run for a second term after being appointed to the seat in 2023, following the death of sitting Sen. Dianne Feinstein.