Former Major League Baseball MVP and GOP senatorial candidate Steve Garvey won a chance on Tuesday to face off against Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for the California Senate seat that was held by the late Dianne Feinstein.
Garvey finished second behind Schiff but ahead of Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee to give the GOP a slight chance to pull off a major upset in the heavily Democratic state. No Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in California since 1988; there are twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans in the state.
“Let’s celebrate,” Garvey told his supporters. “Welcome to the California comeback.”
Referencing his walk-off home run as a San Diego Padre against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth game of the 1984 National League Championship Series, which kept the Padres in the series before they won the decisive fifth game to advance to the World Series, he continued, “What you all are feeling tonight is what it’s like to hit a walk-off home run. Kind of like San Diego in ’84 … Keep in mind, this is the first game of a doubleheader, so keep the evening of Nov. 5 open as we will celebrate again.”
“You’ve exercised the most powerful of our freedoms; that is our right to vote,” he declared. “I’ve always said this: It is the single greatest currency we have. You can’t trade it; you can’t give it away. It’s inherently yours; it’s your personal choice. Your vote is your shared belief with me that California is no longer the heartbeat of America. Sadly, it’s just a murmur. That we have challenges to face up to like closing the border and responsibilities to live up to like helping the homeless off the streets and a pathway back to their dignity. And if we do those things and more our best days will be ahead of us, with California once again being that vibrant heartbeat of America.”
“As we celebrate tonight I want you to know we haven’t come this far to only go this far,” he said. “When I stepped on the field for the Dodgers and the Padres, I didn’t play for Democrats, Republicans or independents; I played for all the fans, and tonight I’m playing for all the people.”
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Then he turned to the multitude of problems faced by Californians and Americans in general, exhorting, “Let me ask you: If you believe that our wide-open border has been a humanitarian and national security catastrophe, then join our campaign. If you’re struggling to pay bills at your kitchen table and only buying $10 of gas instead of 10 gallons, then come join us. If you’re embarrassed by the state and federal government’s failure to address the heartbreaking and endless plight of the homeless, come join our campaign. If you’re frightened by the brazen crime that runs rampant in our cities because of those who have turned their back on our police, then join our campaign. If you’re tired of career politicians that worry more about their next job in Washington, then your next job here in California, you join our campaign. And if you’re concerned that our foreign policy shows weakness and not strength to our adversaries and allies, then please join our campaign.”