U.S. Senator

Why does this race matter?

California Senator Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to this seat following the death of Dianne Feinstein, announced in October 2023 that she would not run for a full term. Now, Steve Garvey and Adam Schiff compete for the opportunity to represent the most populous state in the nation in the Senate.

Why am I voting in this race twice?

When longtime California Sen. Dianne Feinstein died in September 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to serve the remainder of her term. Voters are now being asked to pick a senator to serve the short window from when the election is certified to when the term ends on Jan. 3, 2025, and also to pick a senator for the next full term, from January 2025 through January 2031.

Candidates

Steve Garvey
Steve GarveyFormer Professional Baseball PlayerRepublican
Adam Schiff
Adam SchiffU.S. RepresentativeDemocrat

Top Priorities

Steve Garvey: 

  • Tackling homelessness by addressing the mental health and substance abuse crises.
  • Improving public schools.
  • Holding criminals accountable and improving funding for police departments.

Adam Schiff: 

  • Expanding voting rights and eliminating the electoral college.
  • Reforming campaign finance and ethics laws to make government more accountable.
  • Reforming the U.S. Supreme Court by expanding it and imposing term limits.

Key Supporters

This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.

For Garvey

  • California Republican Party 

For Schiff 

  • Nancy Pelosi, U.S. representative 
  • California Labor Federation 
  • United Farm Workers

Fundraising
Campaign finance data comes from the California Secretary of State’s office or the Federal Election Commission.

Updated at 5:00 PM PT on Sept. 12
Source: California Secretary of State
Steve Garvey:
$10.9m
Adam Schiff:
$39.3m
 

Positions on Key Issues
Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

Do you support a national abortion ban, national abortion limit or federal legislation codifying abortion access across the U.S.?

Garvey says he would not support a federal abortion ban or a federal law codifying abortion access, but wants to leave it up to the states as set out by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. He says he’s personally opposed to abortion but wants to “honor” Californians’ overwhelming vote to maintain legal access to abortion.
Schiff says he would “strongly and vigorously” oppose a national abortion ban or any other federal limitations and supports codifying Roe v. Wade’s protections into federal law. He says he will support the Women’s Health Protection Act, work to reform the Supreme Court in part by expanding its size and imposing term limits, and support a change in law so people on government-sponsored health plans access abortion care.

Do you want to see any conditions placed on U.S. aid to Israel? Do you support continuing financial and military aid to Ukraine?

Garvey opposes placing any conditions on aid to Israel, saying the U.S. should “unequivocally stand by Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorists.” He says the U.S. cannot fund the war in Ukraine forever and that future aid should be based on “some metric of success.”
Schiff opposes conditioning U.S. aid to Israel. He “strongly” supports additional financial and military support for Ukraine but opposes providing cluster munitions.

Would you use Community Project Funding requests (also known as earmarks) to steer funds toward California projects?

Garvey calls the current earmark system “flawed” and says it needs to be reformed to make sure projects are funded on their merits. He blames earmarks for inflation and the national debt, but says he would use it to deliver resources to California.
Schiff supports earmarks and says elected leaders must fight for dollars to flow back to California, noting the state already sends more money to Washington, D.C., than it gets back. He says as a congressman he has brought back millions of dollars to combat homelessness and the housing crisis, strengthened wildfire prevention efforts and invested in mental health treatment for first responders.

Would you support changes to the asylum system or other immigration reform? Did you support the bipartisan border bill drafted by President Biden and Senate Republicans that would have added border security and also limited the asylum system?

Garvey opposed President Biden’s bipartisan border bill, saying “there were too many things packed in there, too many things hidden.” Garvey says the U.S.’s first priority should be strengthening the southern border but that he wants to “reward those who are seeking citizenship legally, including asylum seekers.” He is calling for an end to “chaos” at the border and for a streamlining of the immigration process.
Schiff also opposed the border bill, arguing that members of the Hispanic Caucus were left out of the negotiations. “I would support a package that had a comprehensive immigration reform — this was not that.” He is calling for investing more resources into the immigration court system in order to address the backlog and speed up how long it takes to adjudicate asylum petitions.

U.S. Senator FAQ

What are the qualifications to be a senator?

Senators must be at least 30 years old, and have been U.S. citizens for at least nine years. They must also be residents of the state they’re running to represent at the time of the election. 

How many years do we elect a U.S. senator for? 

U.S. senators are elected for six-year terms.

Related Coverage

More Races

All Statewide Elections

Find information about statewide propositions and candidate races.