Garvey and Schiff will meet in the only fall debate in the U.S. Senate race

A few minutes into their only one-on-one debate, sparks began to fly between U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff and former LA Dodgers star Steve Garvey as both accused the other of failing the Californians.

In an hour-long televised forum tonight for the U.S. Senate seat that Dianne Feinstein held until her death last year, the two engaged in verbal altercations and argued over a range of issues, including reproductive rights and gun control and immigration.

Garvey, a Republican from Palm Desert, portrayed Schiff as a “career politician” who did little for the people of California during his time in office. “This man has done nothing for the last 24 years of all of these things that have given us stability in life,” Garvey said.

Schiff, a Democrat from Burbank who has served in Congress since 2001, portrayed Garvey as a supporter of former President Donald Trump who had experience in professional sports and not politics. “While Mr. Garvey has been signing baseball signatures for the past 37 years, I have seen presidents of both parties and governors of both parties sign my bills,” Schiff said.

The heated arguments contrasted with the dynamics of the race, which was largely calm and static after the March primary in which Schiff spent millions supporting Garvey and ousting his Democratic opponents, U.S. Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee went. Schiff has consistently dominated Garvey in statewide polls in deep blue California and has raised more money overall than his Republican rival — enough to bankroll other Democrats in campaigns across the country.

Garvey, on the other hand, has run a much more low-key campaign and has stayed close to home – apart from a summer trip to Israel. He raised funds for his own campaign while skipping the California Republican Party convention and the Republican National Convention. He has also done interviews with local television stations and performed at local festivals.

Here's more information on some of the key topics during the debate hosted by ABC7 in Los Angeles and the League of Women Voters of California:

abortion

Garvey emphasized that he is Catholic and said he pledges to support the will of Californians on reproductive rights. In November 2022, California voters enshrined the right to abortion and contraception in the state constitution, which Garvey recognized.

Garvey said he believes reproductive freedom is a state-by-state issue. In January, Garvey said he opposed a nationwide abortion ban. And in July, he said he supported overturning Roe v. Wade, which ended decades of federal abortion protections and left decision-making power to states.

Schiff said he supported enshrining abortion rights in federal law and criticized Garvey for supporting the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“If my colleague were to listen to the voices of Californians, as he claims, he would hear their voices loud and clear: Californians want a national right to reproductive freedom and they do not want the government to make that decision for women. said Schiff. “I am for reproductive freedom, Mr. Garvey. You're not.”

“Court Packing”

Schiff blamed the Supreme Court's conservative majority for overturning Roe and supported expanding the court from nine to 13 justices.

“What interests me is that a small number of conservative justices who have lied to the Senate about their plans intend to deprive millions of women of reproductive care,” he said.

In response, Garvey repeatedly accused Schiff of supporting court packing – a partisan ploy to change the number of justices to achieve a desired result. In theory, it's possible, but previous efforts have failed due to fierce opposition, ABC News reported.

Garvey argued that Schiff's support for nationwide abortion rights, gun control measures and the abolition of the filibuster – which effectively requires 60 votes to pass legislation in the US Senate – show that Schiff wants to pack the court and “deconstruct” the Constitution.

In response, Schiff said that U.S. Supreme Court justices should be “rebalanced” and have their term limits based on a stricter code of ethics.

“As for the full room, Mr. Garvey, if you haven’t been paying attention, it’s already full,” Schiff said, referring to the conservative majority.

Weapons

Garvey, who told CalMatters last year that he supported an assault weapons ban, did not say tonight whether he had changed his position. Instead, he focused solely on pre-sale background checks.

“I think the most important thing is a strong background check that goes much deeper than it does today, to preserve the integrity of the Second Amendment and give people the opportunity to defend themselves,” he said.

Schiff said he supports a universal background check law as well as a ban on assault weapons and advanced ammunition loads. It would also “remove the (National Rifle Association’s) immunity from liability,” he said.

Donald Trump

Schiff – who led the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump – continues to describe the former president as an unfit leader. In his own race, he has tried to link Garvey – who has voted for Trump twice and plans to vote for him again – with Trump, accusing Garvey tonight of being a “MAGA Mini-Me in a baseball uniform.” be.

Garvey, however, said Schiff's focus on his impeachment efforts against Trump prevented him from responding to the needs of Californians, arguing that it would be the “most toxic” Senate if Schiff were elected.

“I can’t imagine, Mr. Schiff, how you can get up every morning and accomplish a mission, and that is to go after Donald Trump,” Garvey said. “How can you think about and focus on one man every day when you have millions of people to care for in California?”

But Schiff wore his outspokenness against Trump as a badge of honor, arguing that he had “defied a corrupt president” and witnessed Trump “inciting” a mob that stormed the Capitol.

immigration

Tonight, Garvey described the border as “an existential crisis” created by President Joe Biden. As border crossings increased under Biden, he pushed for tougher border restrictions, including expanding executive powers to close the border and restrict asylum seekers.

But Garvey wrote an op-ed in La Opinión against the mass deportation of illegal immigrants that Trump has committed to if he returns to the White House. Instead, Garvey argued that the federal government should increase funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, strengthen border security and speed up green card applications for families. He called for a “temporary closure” of the border.

Additionally, Garvey said he supports reinstating the Trump-era policy of keeping asylum seekers in Mexico while their applications are pending. He opposed “catch and release,” which, rather than detaining a migrant, allows him to return to the community while he awaits an immigration court hearing.

Schiff said tonight the government must “take control of the border” and advocated for more personnel and technology to help patrol the border while ensuring humane treatment of migrants.

“We can have both a strong border and treat people as people,” he said.

Schiff has criticized policies around migrant detention, calling conditions in some detention centers “incredibly disturbing.” He advocated for increased funding to hire more judges and interpreters in immigration courts, more resources to improve border controls and an expansion of humanitarian support for asylum seekers.

He also supports the U.S. Citizenship Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for some Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and undocumented immigrants if they pass background checks and have worked in the country for at least five years.

Schiff and Garvey are vying for the support of Latino voters, who are the least likely to vote despite being the largest racial and ethnic group nationwide. As part of an “all-in Latino community strategy,” Garvey’s campaign aired its first national TV ads on Oct. 4 — only in Spanish — as part of a $5 million advertising buy.