FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Republican Steve Garvey and Democrat Adam Schiff are campaigning for Central Valley votes just as vote-by-mail ballots arrive in mailboxes across the state.
“I’m running for the soul of California,” Garvey said. “The California that, through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, was the heartbeat of America. These are good people.”
“I want to make sure that people in Fresno and elsewhere have access to good quality health care, that they have clean air to breathe, (and) clean water to drink,” Schiff said.
The candidates recently sat down with Action News for wide-ranging interviews. They are fighting for the U.S. Senate seat left by the late Dianne Feinstein and currently held by Laphonza Butler, who is not running for reelection.
Garvey is well-known on the baseball diamond but a political newcomer.
“I’m not a career politician,” he said. “I’ve said I’ll be one term and get up every day to be there to fight.”
Schiff says he will keep fighting for California. He has served in Congress for 23 years.
“I think what Californians are looking for is someone that will fight for their community, someone who has a record of getting things done,” Schiff said.
The candidates each say they have spent time learning about Valley issues.
“I’ve gone to the ranches to farmers and talked to them,” Garvey said. “These are the people that are historically the generations of families that are the roots and the foundation of California.”
“I’ve been learning about hospitals like the one in Madera that shut down and problems with access to health care,” Schiff said. “I’ve been learning about the particulate matter in the air in much of the Central Valley.”
As the campaigns mount, polling is clear. Nearly every poll has Schiff leading Garvey by between 20 and 30 points.
“We got him right where we want him,” Garvey said of Schiff. “He’s overconfident.”
Even as polls show Schiff has a healthy lead, the Central Valley is expected to be more competitive and could play a key role for either candidate.
The Trump effect is at play, too. Garvey has said he would vote for the former president.
Schiff, who prosecuted Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, says he is ready to hold Trump accountable again.
“If it’s necessary to serve as a check on a President, whether that one or any other one who is abusing the powers of their office or trying to tear down the guardrails of our democracy, I’m going to stand up to them,” Schiff said.
Garvey and Schiff are listed on California ballots twice. One race is for the full six-year term beginning in January, and the other is for the final few weeks of the current Congress in November and December.
