Adam Schiff Projected to Win California Senate Seat Once Held by Late Sen. Dianne Feinstein

California voters are in the process of filling the U.S. Senate seat previously held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, with Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff projected to win the election. This race marks a significant moment in California’s political landscape, which has been heavily influenced by Feinstein and other veteran Democratic figures like former Senator Barbara Boxer and former Governor Jerry Brown.

Feinstein, a centrist Democrat who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, passed away at the age of 90 in September 2023. Following her death, Laphonza Butler, a Democratic operative and former labor leader, was appointed to fill her seat but decided not to run for a full term this year.

The election has been dominated by Adam Schiff, a congressman from the Los Angeles area who gained national attention as the lead prosecutor during former President Donald Trump‘s first impeachment trial. Schiff has maintained a significant lead in both campaign funding and polling over his Republican opponent, Steve Garvey, a former baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

Schiff’s campaign has focused on national issues such as abortion rights and has consistently portrayed Trump as a danger to democracy. He has highlighted his extensive experience in Congress, having first been elected to the House in 2000, in contrast to Garvey, who is running for office for the first time and positions himself as an outsider with fresh ideas to tackle California’s issues like homelessness, inflation, and housing affordability.

Despite the significance of this election, it has received limited attention in a year where control of the Senate hinges on several competitive contests in other states. The Republican Party has faced significant challenges in California, where Democrats hold all statewide offices and dominate both the Legislature and the congressional delegation.

Garvey, who describes himself as a ‘conservative moderate,’ has targeted his final campaign efforts towards the Latino community, which constitutes around 25% of the expected voters in California. However, the state’s strong Democratic leanings and the historical lack of Republican success in Senate elections since 1988 suggest that Schiff is likely to secure the seat.