https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/2024-elections-west/

In a Predictable #Election Season, There Are Still Surprises Out West
SASHA ABRAMSKY

..."In #California this week, the top four contenders to replace Laphonza Butler, who stepped in as a temporary #senator after Diane Feinstein’s death last year, took part in a televised #debate. Polls show that Adam Schiff is the favorite; the big question is who, in California’s open primary on March 5, will come second and face him in the general election. Barbara Lee and Katie Porter are vying for California’s more progressive voters; meanwhile, former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey is running as a sort of Schwarzenegger-styled Republican, talking about practical concerns such as homelessness and public safety while generally steering clear of the more polarizing culture-war issues of the day. Garvey doesn’t have a political background, giving him very little political baggage—but he does have at least a modicum of name recognition from his glory days back in the 1980s. In a recent poll, he came in second, edging out both Lee and Porter.

Not surprisingly, Porter spent much of the debate on the offensive against Garvey, who looks to be her most immediate threat to advancing into the general election. The low-hanging fruit, in a state where barely a third of voters supported Trump in 2020, was to tag Garvey as a Trumpite. Porter, along with the other two Democrats, pressed Garvey repeatedly on whether he would vote for Trump in 2024, and Garvey repeatedly ducked the question. In fact, Garvey’s response was a case study in disingenuousness. He would have to look at what both presidential candidates had done, he said, before making up his mind on how to vote.

What the candidates have done? Let’s see… On the one hand: insurrection, tax fraud, sexual assault, use of openly fascist language on the campaign trail, misuse of government office to secure personal gain from overseas governments, support for family separation policies, Muslim travel bans, flirting with white nationalists and paramilitaries, calling for the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be executed, and an expressed willingness to invoke the Insurrection Act in order to sic the military on domestic opponents. On the other hand: presided over three-plus years of job growth, one of the largest infrastructure bills in US history, large-scale investments in green energy, and made a few physical stumbles and verbal gaffes that FoxNews has twisted into being signs of senility. Close call."...