California’s Senate candidates clash in first debate

The four major candidates vying for one of California’s U.S. Senate seats faced off in their first debate at USC Monday night. 

The special election is a race to succeed the late Sen. Diane Feinstein. However, with Rep. Adam Schiff in the lead, the other candidates are focused on securing second place and advancing past the March primary. 

Schiff and the two other congresswomen trailing him, Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, grilled their Republican opponent, Steve Garvey, on whether he would support former President Donald Trump. Garvey and Porter are tied for second, according to some polling. 

“This is not the minor leagues. Who will you vote for,” Porter said during the debate. 

The pressure to emerge, particularly for Lee and Porter, was clear as only the top two candidates would advance to the general election in November. 

“I think what Garvey showed tonight is he’s not seasoned,” political expert Zev Yaroslavsky said. “Some sparks flew. Some differences emerged. But as far as the two principal Democratic candidates, Schiff and Porter, not so much difference in terms of policy a lot of differences in personality.”

Apart from knocking Garvey down, the Democratic candidates jostled over the war in Gaza. 

“I support a two-state solution,” said Schiff. “We have to get back on the road to a two-state solution, but Israel has to defend itself. We can’t leave Hamas governing Gaza.”

Each had nuanced differences in their responses but hammered the same points. 

“Ceasefire is not a magic word,” Porter said. “You can’t say it and make it so. But, we have to push as the United States as a world leader for us to get to a ceasefire and to avoid another forever war.”

“If you don’t have a permanent cease-fire now more people are going to get killed,” Lee said.