Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) are tied for second place in the 2024 Senate race to represent California despite the Democratic representative vastly outraising her GOP opponent.
A new poll released on Thursday from researchers at USC, CSU Long Beach, and Cal Poly Pomona shows Garvey and Porter tied for second with the support of 15% of likely voters ahead of the March 5 primary. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) dominates the field with 25% of the support, and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) came in fourth place, with 7%.
Despite launching his GOP Senate bid in October, several months after his Democratic opponents, Garvey claimed second place in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released in December, sitting at 19% among likely voters with Porter at 17%, Lee at 14%, and Schiff miles ahead as the clear front-runner at 28%.
But while the Republican has emerged as an unlikely top contender, Porter raised a lot more funds than the former Los Angeles Dodgers star. Porter ended 2023 with about $13.2 million in cash, raising nearly $3 million in the year’s final quarter, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Porter assumed office in 2019, representing California’s 45th Congressional District, now serving the 47th District. Like the other two House Democrats running, Porter launched her Senate bid with different fundraising strongholds across California. But Garvey entered the race as a Republican outsider in the state dominated by Democrats, focusing the start of his campaign on fundraising.
Garvey brought in $610,920 between Oct. 10 and Dec. 31, with his campaign spending $302,000 during the same period. His campaign has around $48,218 in debt from fundraising, media consulting, and other costs.
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Schiff was the top fundraiser in the race to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, leading the pack with $35 million on hand — ending 2023 with more funds than all candidates combined. In the final quarter of last year, Schiff brought in $5.7 million.
Garvey sourced the least amount out of his three Democratic counterparts — Lee ended the year with $1.3 million.
