California U.S. Senate Election: Garvey vs. Schiff Voter Guide

Schiff, 64, has represented communities in Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley for nearly three decades.

Schiff served as an assistant U.S. attorney — a federal prosecutor — before being elected to represent a Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena district in the state Senate in 1996, which he served for four years. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2001 and is in his 12th term representing California's 30th Congressional District – which stretches from Beverly Grove to Pasadena and from Echo Park to the Angeles National Forest.

Schiff served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee between 2019 and 2023 and led the first impeachment trial of President Trump in the House over allegations that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine while pressuring leaders there to launch an investigation into his Democratic rival Joe Biden in 2020 to announce. Schiff also served as lead prosecutor in the subsequent Senate impeachment trial, in which Trump was acquitted.

Schiff later served on the Jan. 6 committee that investigated an alleged plot by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, including the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Trump was impeached a second time for incitement of insurrection but was again acquitted by the Senate.

The two impeachments have significantly raised Schiff's national profile. It also made him a lightning rod for the political right as conservatives condemned him for what they saw as unfair attacks on Trump.

House Republicans censured Schiff in 2023, claiming that years earlier he had “intentionally misled” Congress and the American public by claiming there was evidence of collusion between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. Subsequent investigations found that while the Russians had intervened in the election on Trump's behalf and that his campaign welcomed the help, they did not conclude that there had been a criminal conspiracy. Schiff has defended his actions and called the criticism a “badge of honor.”

Garvey, 75, is famous in Southern California not for his politics – where he describes himself as a “moderate conservative” – ​​but for playing in the major leagues.

The first-time political candidate was a star first baseman for the Dodgers in the 1970s and early 1980s – he won the 1981 World Series with the team – and later a hero with the San Diego Padres, helping them win the 1984 World Series to reach. He won four Gold Glove Awards and was a 10-time National League All-Star.

As a player, Garvey cultivated a squeaky-clean, all-American image and acted as a “role model” and “devoted family man.”

His clean image was tarnished by scandal in the late 1980s, when Garvey divorced his wife, impregnated two other women and then married a fourth woman, his current wife. Garvey has also been struggling with money for years – leaving a trail of unpaid debts – and owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, according to recent financial disclosures.