By Brian Ritter
The California open primary voting for U.S. Senator is upon us and it will send the two top vote-getters to a final showdown in November. The four major candidates are Adam Schiff (63), Steve Garvey (75), Katie Porter (50) and Barbara Lee (77).
Schiff is a pro-corporation Democrat; Garvey is a Trump supporter; and Katie Porter and Barbara Lee are progressive Democrats. Schiff is currently polling the best. Garvey and Porter are neck-and-neck vying for second place, and Lee trails.
Second place continues to be uncertain, but it’s possible the Senate runoff in November might be between two older, white males — neither of them progressive. Californians deserve a better choice.
In California I don’t believe Garvey has any chance of winning the runoff, which means a pro-corporation, older, white male could ultimately be representing us in the Senate based on results in the primary– before real campaigns and educating the public even begin.
Again, Californians deserve better; plus we vote better when fully educated– like during a long campaign.
I appeal to you in the hope that you might help me change the runoff into a real runoff pitting a progressive woman debating a pro-corporation male.
California would then have the opportunity to have a runoff with very interesting and educational campaigns that would make public the differences between those two political philosophies.
How do we do that? We vote for just one of the progressive women running.
I like and respect both Porter and Lee, but Porter’s polling is about twice that of Lee. Porter is already running neck-and-neck with Garvey.
Furthermore, Porter is only 50 and could serve multiple decades, gaining real power in the Senate before becoming too old. Lee will turn 83 before her first term is over.
Even if you think “I just want to make sure a Democrat becomes my senator, and Schiff is the most likely Democrat”, it’s still to your advantage to vote for Porter in the primary. Schiff is almost guaranteed to make it onto the ballot in November, but if Porter can eke out a second-place finish over Garvey, no Republican would still be in the running–hence, no Republican senator.
Porter has a strong following among young voters: “[Her] strength is among young voters…. Notably, this [young] group has the highest share of undecided voters at 28%” says Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
Biden’s age has been a turnoff for most young voters despite what he has done to reduce student debt and other good things. Porter’s popularity could draw a number of them back in to vote and directly participate in democracy instead of remaining disillusioned. Porter can reinvigorate youth’s push for progressive influence on most issues–something we need in order to halt and reverse climate change and to defend democracy.
If you were planning on voting for Schiff or Lee (as you likely are if you are over 60), please consider voting for Porter and the future instead. If you can afford it, please immediately donate to her primary campaign. It would be a good investment for all if Garvey were eliminated.
Broke? How about volunteering to work from home on Porter’s virtual phone banks or walk precincts for her. Susan has put in hundreds of hours on such activities.
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider what I’m proposing.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Schiff is a pro-Democracy Democrat who will stand up to the MAGA regime. Porter has little to no experience there. IMO.
They’re all terrible candidates, but who cares that Schiff is an older white male? Barbara Lee would be in her mid-80s at the end of a term; isn’t that more disqualifying than the color of Schiff’s skin?
BTW who is Brian Ritter and why no background to the source? Transparency on an opinion piece? Plz.
Ok, disclaimer: I can’t vote in this (no longer CA resident), I’m > 70 and wouldn’t dream of voting for a 77-yr (go ahead and bash me for ageism), and have never voted for a Republican in my 50+ yrs of voting. So that takes Lee and Garvey off my fantasy list!
California needs a Senator like Porter. Even more importantly, Washington needs a Senator like Porter. The nation needs Senators like Porter. This person (trying be generic here so I’m not accused of feminism!), while criticized by many (Chris?) as not having experience, has a bigger skillset in her little finger than most of the older (whatever color) males (or females).
The “lack of experience” argument has really turned into a chestnut…um, is that like Mitch being “the longest serving member of Congress?” Yeah, and look what all THAT “experience” has brought us! And Schiff? C’mon, he’s so middle of the road, pro-corporation, pro let’s not rock a boat… he’s ok, but he’s just not what’s needed-
I’m team Porter all the way, she would be an excellent, fresh addition to the Senate! :)
Why not let the voters decide? If Garvey makes the runoff it would have 2 candidates with different views. The runoffs years ago had a candidate from both parties. I don’t think the current process gives runoff voters a variance of candidates.
I used to live on the Washington, DC, line (Silver Spring) and know a bit about Congress – its culture and hidebound ways.
Katie Porter would ge a sparkling star were she to make it to the Senate.
Schiff would be just another corporate Democrat, and there are way too many of them already.
Porter is realistic, gets to the point, and has winning personal ways. She can work across the asile and not get stuck in partisan pack politics.
I say this as a person well over sixty years of age.
Please consider voting for Katie Porter!!!
Another important reason to support Katie Porter is that Schiff is a strong Zionist who supports Israeli genocide while both Porter and especially Barbara Lee support a ceasefire and end of the war. Further, CA has had a female senator for years now and, in my opinion, Newsom should have appointed Barbara Lee. We need a female progressive in the Senate to represent CA. Schiff’s ads that elevate Garvey so that he won’t have to run against Porter are disgraceful.
If we are considering “Progressive” markers, courageous peace-voting Black female Barbara Lee is the “one we have been waiting for,” as the saying goes.
Lee is always civil. She was always respectful of her distinguished predecessor Senator Dianne Feinstein — in ways that Orange County Katie Porter distinctly was not when she callously and loudly jumped into the race before Feinstein had died.
Neither Barbara Lee’s nor Adam Schiff’s running for the Senate opens their congressional Democratic seats to likely takeover by a Republican contender, as Orange County Katie’s ambition absolutely does.
Adam Schiff is an American hero for taking on Trump in the House impeachment hearings. He’s also civil, an excellent lawyer and an astute politician with sufficient backing to run effectively and get elected in this huge state. The tragedy of Gaza is Biden’s responsibility alone.
I’m grateful for extraordinary service during a terrible time and have voted for Adam Schiff for Senate.
I didn’t consider Schiff for numerous reasons…for one, he has taken all that
Wall Street money. Schiff did a good job in the impeachment hearing, but that’s not the sum total of what the job requires.
I have always questioned the jungle primary format. Because there is only one republican in the race that has any name recognition or familiarity by the general public, The Garv pretty much gets a pass to the run-off, particularly with Schiff running ads for him and trashing Porter. So California gets the choice of a Democratic candidate chosen from three possibilities with no real opportunity for an exploration of their positions on matters that Californians care about and a Republican with great, albeit faded, baseball skills, really good hair and not much else. I note that the LA Times ran an article today asking the candidates their positions on several issues that had been submitted by readers – Garvey’s campaign didn’t even respond.
I also note that several of his children have seriously panned his candidacy and his character.
At the outset of the race, I could have supported any of the three Dem candidates. Unfortunately, Lee disqualified herself, in my opinion, with several of her positions, particularly calling for a $50 minimum wage. That would be a death sentence for many small businesses.
Schiff has great experience in national security and intelligence issues, but is perhaps a little to cozy with the establishment. Porter has the back of the little guy, particularly against corporate interests. She also has the ability to break down complex issues – you go with those mad whiteboard skills, girl!
I really would like to see a Schiff-Porter runoff where we could really see the contrast between the two candidates. Unfortunately, due to the primary format, we’re probably likely to get a Schiff -Garvey race which will probably break down to red v. blue.
Couldn’t agree with you more.
Even Schiff was calling for a $20 minimum wage tied to the cost of living. Think inflation won’t return? I preferred Schiff, but don’t agree on everything. With Cali unemployment next to last in the nation at 5.1% (thanks to Newsome’s business policies), that could be fuel on the fire. Porter wants to blame the corporate money, but plain and simple, on a low voter turnout, she didn’t get the support or fund raise well enough. Even the messaging, of Katie’s going to lower housing costs, let alone shake up the Senate, was far fetched.
The identity politics in this article are thick. Maybe the author should lead with his race and age while he(?) is at it. Since it’s apparently the most important criteria. Katie severely underperformed at the polls, and nobody likes a sore loser. Dust yourself off and fire your campaign chair, and head for the next battle.