The US Senate race for 2024 has added two new candidates. On the Republican side, former Dodger and Padre first baseman Steve Garvey is in and former KTLA reporter Christina Pascucci is running — we think — as a Democrat who seeks to appeal to Latino and undecided voters. Neither of these new additions has ever held public office. They join Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Barbara Lee.
For Dodger fans, Steve Garvey is signing autographs and trading cards in Santa Ana this Saturday at Card Pavillion at 2423 North Tustin Ave. And those autographs will set you back $50 a pop. But it’s a chance to find out if Garvey is really serious about elective office or if he’s just California’s answer to Herschel Walker. Garvey was a great ballplayer, but a horrible father and husband. And his candidacy would more than likely mirror Caitlyn Jenner’s campaign for governor. Should he make the top two for November, he’d likely be crushed by any Democrat that emerges in the top two.
According to TVSpy, Politico is calling Pascucci’s candidacy a “longshot campaign.” She spent a decade at KTLA. and joined the news team at KTTV in 2022.
“She told Politico in an exclusive interview, she’s running as a “moderate consensus builder in a field of bomb-throwing partisans.” She described herself as a “truth-seeker” who would focus on legislating, adding she would apply the same approach she did to newsgathering.
“I’ve been covering the most pressing issues of California for the past 15 years and watching this race closely, as well as covering it and interviewing some of the candidates,” Pascucci said. “And the more I watched it, the more closely I studied it, I honestly felt dismayed by how it was shaping up. I spoke to a lot of others who felt the same way. Like, this is our future — more of the same.”
In addition to announcing her candidacy. Pascucci also announced she’s expectng a child.
And no one is sure if California’s newest senator Laphonza Butler hasn’t indicated whether she will or won’t run for a full term.
Complicating things further is that California will hold a special election for Feinstein’s US Senate seat next March. With four to five possible Democratic candidates in a special election campaign, it’s entirely possible Garvey could be elected to hold the US Senate seat for nine months until the general November 2024 election. And this special election opens a fundraising can of worms effectively allowing candidates to maximize contributions for the 2024 primary and special election. You though you were getting appeals for money now? Just wait.
From the FEC website:
California has scheduled special elections to fill the remainder of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s unexpired U.S. Senate term. The Special Primary Election will be held on March 5, 2024, and the Special General Election will be held on November 5, 2024.