California voters pick finalists for coveted California Senate seat
LOS ANGELES — Californians on Tuesday cast ballots to whittle down the state’s most competitive Senate race in a generation, selecting the two candidates who will face off in November to represent the Golden State in Washington.
Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland have been campaigning for more than a year to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had represented California in the Senate since 1992. The top Republican challenger, Steve Garvey, a former Dodgers All-Star, entered the race in October.
The job, one of the most coveted in California politics, is rarely open. Feinstein was in the Senate for more than three decades, and Sen. Barbara Boxer served for nearly a quarter-century. A Senate seat can also be a launching pad for higher office, as was the case for Vice President Kamala Harris, President Nixon and California Gov. Pete Wilson.
For the first time in a generation, Californians may not be.
