5 takeaways from California’s first 2024 US Senate election debate
LOS ANGELES — California’s sleepy race to determine who will succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein came alive Monday night at the University of Southern California, when three congressional Democrats and a former-Dodger-turned-Republican-candidate clashed over the war in Gaza and pitched their plans to address homelessness and protect reproductive freedoms.
Reps. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland delighted in ripping into former baseball star Steve Garvey — a newcomer to politics and supporter of former President Donald Trump — who appeared at times bemused and at times unprepared for the pile-on.
“Once a Dodger, always a dodger,” Porter said, a shot at Garvey after he refused to say whether he’d vote for Trump this fall.
Monday’s debate, hosted by Fox 11 News and Politico, was the first of three scheduled before the March 5 primary election, when California voters will decide which two candidates will face off in November to decide the winner of one of the most coveted and powerful political posts in the state.
Up until the debate, the trio of Democrats had crisscrossed California and stayed focused on their vision for the state without descending into mudslinging. Monday was different.
