Poll: Adam Schiff expands already sizable lead over Steve Garvey in California Senate race

Rep. Adam B. Schiff has slightly expanded his already sizable lead over retired Dodger All-Star Steve Garvey in new polling ahead of California’s U.S. Senate race, with the Burbank Democrat now holding a 20-point advantage over his Republican challenger. Schiff was the preferred candidate of 53% of likely voters in the state, while Garvey was preferred by 33%, according to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, which was co- A Berkeley IGS poll of likely voters in February, prior to the state’s March primary, had Schiff leading 53% to 38% — 15 points — in a two-way matchup with Garvey, with 9% undecided. Andy Gharakhani, Garvey’s campaign manager, said in a statement that for Schiff to “only be at 53%” after “decades in politics” was “evidence enough that the momentum in this election is behind Steve Garvey.” “While Adam Schiff has already spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising and is well defined with voters, Californians are listening to Steve Garvey with an open mind,” Gharakhani said. “It’s a structural problem for the Republicans.” Schiff and Garvey are going head to head after securing the most votes of all contenders in California’s unusual “jungle primary” in March, where the top two vote getters — regardless of party — advanced to the general election. Gharakhani, Garvey’s campaign manager, said Garvey has an untapped “war chest” of millions of dollars that he is preparing to use to “communicate his message of common sense, compassion, and consensus building directly to voters,” and that “a lot can happen in the next three months.” Gharakhani pointed to Garvey outperforming Schiff in fundraising in the second quarter of this year.