Open U.S. Senate seats in California don’t come up very often. But after the death of Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein, there is a rare chance for another Democrat to hold this powerful seat for decades.
The primary is on Tuesday. The two big names are Democratic members of Congress: Adam Schiff, who helped lead Trump’s first impeachment, and Katie Porter, a liberal known for viral takedowns of Republicans. A third notable Democratic member of Congress, Barbara Lee, is also running.
Both Schiff and Porter have a real shot at winning the Senate seat in November. But California is an all-party primary, which means the top two vote-getters advance to November’s general election regardless of party.
Schiff is likely to get the first general election spot. And he would much rather face the Republican, former baseball player Steve Garvey, in the November election. So he has been spending heavily to boost Garvey. And now there’s a real risk that Porter could lose the second general election spot to Garvey, reports The Washington Post’s Maeve Reston.