The blockbuster California primary on Super Tuesday is the first competitive Senate battle on the 2024 calendar. There’s virtually no chance Democrats won’t ultimately hold the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, but will the race be over before it’s even really begun due to the state’s jungle primary?
There are 27 total candidates listed on the ballot — 11 Democrats, nine Republicans and seven third-party candidates. But only four truly factor into the contest: On the Democratic side, it’s Reps. Adam Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland; former professional baseball player Steve Garvey is the only prominent Republican in the race, but has little hope of actually winning the seat in this contest we rate as Solid Democrat.
In the final weeks ahead of the March 5 primary, the sprawling contest boils down essentially to two possibilities: Will this be a race that is effectively over during the general election if the frontrunner, Schiff, faces, as he clearly wants, Garvey? Or will this become a Democrat-on-Democrat fight until November between Schiff and
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.