On aid to Ukraine, Garvey said “we stand with Ukraine. We made a commitment to them,” adding that “I think we’ll continue to provide arms, intelligence, technology, (but) I think the most common sense people are saying, ‘well, we’re giving them all this money. Where is it going?’ And I think that’s an honest question to ask.”
Asked if he agreed with some of the Republicans running for president who want to use the U.S. military to go after drug cartels south of the border, Garvey said “I don’t think it’s completely unreasonable to be able to secure that border. … looking at what types of our military, of our National Guard we can use to be able to detect the influx of criminals from cartels who are bringing drugs in, who are human trafficking, who are abusing people,” adding that “we have to work with the government of Mexico.”
Although he downplays his Republican Party affiliation, Garvey says he voted for Donald Trump for president in 2016 and 2020, and wouldn’t rule out voting for him again in 2024. He said he’d wait to see who the nominees are and then “I’ll make a decision based on who I think is the best candidate.”
Garvey has never before run for office, and he doesn’t have much time to build a successful campaign infrastructure and raise enough money to be competitive in the March 5 primary election. But California Republicans are eager to find a credible U.S. Senate candidate who can consolidate GOP voters. Under California’s “top two” primary, the first and second place finishers in the primary — regardless of party — face off in November.
The only independent poll that included Garvey showed him well behind Schiff and Porter and tied with Lee. Fifty-nine percent of voters had no opinion of Garvey.
The last time California voters elected a Republican U.S. Senator was in 1988 — a year after Garvey retired from major league baseball — when Sen. Pete Wilson won a second term before running for governor two years later. Garvey has precious little time to put together a credible campaign that would elevate him to the top two in March.