As voters head to the polls on Super Tuesday, California’s Senate race is taking center stage as an unlikely GOP candidate, former MLB star Steve Garvey, surges in popularity against likely November opponent Adam Schiff.
“Golden Together” founder and Fox News contributor Steve Hilton told “America’s Newsroom” that the turn of events has Democrats “massively surprised” as California voters battle statewide issues stemming from immigration and homelessness.
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“They’re massively surprised because they’re incredibly arrogant,” Hilton told Dana Perino on Tuesday.
“They assume that California is just a total Democratic one-party state. Republicans have got no chance. That was their attitude when Steve Garvey got in the race and the assumption among the California political press and all the Democrats was ‘well, it’s obviously going to be Adam Schiff and Katie Porter,’ but what it tells you is that this state, my beautiful home state of California, is much more Republican than people think.”
“Garvey has been helped by the fact that we have this top-two system, which means that the top two finishers, regardless of party, go through,” he continued. “Because of their arrogance, because they assume that a Republican cannot win… Adam Schiff has been spending enormous amounts of money to try and get Steve Garvey into the general election because he assumes that he’s going to have a walkover.”
California voters are casting their ballots Tuesday to fill late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat, which is currently being filled temporarily by Laphonza Butler. Four candidates are in the running for her seat – Reps. Schiff, Porter and Barbara Lee alongside Garvey, who is the only Republican in the race.
Garvey has surged to a “statistical tie” against Schiff, according to a poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. The data indicates 27% of voters would back Garvey compared to Schiff’s 25%, which is a steep increase from data back in January.
Whichever two of the four candidates receives the highest number of votes in Tuesday’s primary will advance to the November general election, no matter which party each candidate represents.
“People are sick and tired of what’s been happening on every single issue,” Hilton said.
“Obviously the big ones that we see, and very vividly so on our screens all the time, crime and homelessness, people are sick of that. But when you look at every single issue, California is performing so poorly. We have the highest taxes, but also the highest poverty.”
“We spend the most per student in our public schools. We have the worst literacy in America. On and on through every issue. People want to change, but what they’re looking for is something positive, an alternative,” he continued.
“When you hear Steve Garvey speak, he is such a positive individual. He talks about the California dream, what it means to him and his family. I feel exactly the same way. People are looking for hope here in California.”
Garvey, a former 10-time MLB All-Star, told “Fox & Friends” Monday that Californians are “mad” about the state’s Democratic leadership.
“They’re not going to take it anymore,” said the longtime Dodgers first baseman, adding that voters in the state know “his heart” and believe that he’ll represent their best interests.
