‘Reagan-esque’ Dodger Legend Weighs GOP Bid to Fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Seat

LOS ANGELES — You’d have to go back a generation, to 1988, to find the last time a Republican candidate won a United States Senate race in heavily Democratic California. This time, the party could get an MVP on the ballot.

Baseball legend Steve Garvey, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, will meet with voters and top Republican officials as he weighs a possible 2024 Senate run in a race that already has several prominent Democratic contenders. She appeared at a recent fundraiser for Republican Rep. Michelle Steel in Orange County, where she signed baseballs and discussed her possible candidacy.

“He is seriously considering entering the race,” said veteran consultant Andy Gharakhani, who advises Garvey.

Garvey has flirted with the possibility of entering politics before, including after his retirement from baseball, when he teased a possible run for the United States Senate, but never became a candidate.

“I have been contacted about running for office and I am exploring that. No announcement is imminent,” Garvey said in a statement issued by a Dodgers team spokesman.

Garvey, 74, had an 18-year major league career and was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1974. He retired from baseball in 1987.

The growing field of candidates already includes House Democrats. kate porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee. The seat is held by the Democratic senator. Diana Feinsteinwho has announced that he is not seeking another mandate.

Still, even with his celebrity gloss, Garvey would enter the race as an underdog. Democrats hold every state office and dominate congressional and legislative delegations. Republicans, who are outnumbered 2-1 by Democratic voters in the state, have struggled for years to find credible candidates for state offices.

In the state’s last two US Senate races, Republican candidates performed so poorly in the primary that only two Democrats advanced to the November ballot. Garvey’s candidacy could give the GOP a chance to make it to the November election, which could increase party turnout and also help Republican candidates vote less.

The power of celebrity can produce surprises at the polls, noted veteran Democratic consultant Roger Salazar, referring to the political rise of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former President Donald Trump, among others.

While a Democrat would be favored given the political leaning of the state, a fractured Democratic primary could provide an opportunity for Garvey to enter the November matchup.

“I have learned to never say never when it comes to celebrities in politics,” Salazar added.

Political scientist Thad Kousser, who teaches at the University of California, San Diego, said part of Garvey’s challenge will be to change the perception of the Republican brand in liberal-leaning California, where Trump lost in a landslide in the 2020 election. He noted that Schwarzenegger, the state’s last Republican governor, was a moderate who supported abortion rights and environmental protection.

Although he is unlikely to win in a state that favors Democrats, Garvey would change the dynamics of the race with a large and growing field.

If he becomes a candidate, “he’s not going to win the game but he’s going to change the game,” Kousser added.

In recent election cycles, California Republicans have criticized the Democratic-dominated state government, blaming the rival party for notoriously high taxes, a homelessness crisis, rising urban crime rates, and high prices for housing that are out of reach for many working-class families.

“I think Steve Garvey would be one of the most exciting and dynamic candidates for state office that Republicans have had in decades,” said Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel, who is married to the congresswoman.

“It’s good on the stump … and reminds me of a Reagan-style approach,” Steel added, referring to former Republican President Ronald Reagan, another Californian.

Republican lawyer Eric Early, a failed candidate for state attorney general in 2022 and 2018 and for Congress in 2020, entered the Senate race in April. In a statement, he said Garvey “has more personal baggage than Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner,” an apparent reference to 80s sex scandals that tarnished Garvey’s reputation as “Mr. Clean,” a nickname that referred to the buttoned-down image of him from his Dodger days.