Steve Garvey (California)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Steve Garvey

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Michigan State University

Personal

Birthplace

Tampa, Fla.

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign TikTok

Steve Garvey (Republican Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. Senate to represent California. He lost in the special general election on November 5, 2024.

Garvey also ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent California. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Steve Garvey was born in Tampa, Florida. Garvey earned a B.S. from Michigan State University. He was a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987. He founded Garvey Marketing Group and worked with causes such as the Special Olympics, Juvenile Diabetes, The Blind Children Center, The Sisters of Carondelet, United Way, Ronald McDonald House, St. Vincent DePaul Center, and Pediatrics AIDS.

Elections

2024

Regular election

See also: United States Senate election in California, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate California

Adam Schiff defeated Steve Garvey in the general election for U.S. Senate California on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Schiff (D)	58.9	9,036,252
		Steve Garvey (R)	41.1	6,312,594

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,348,846
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate California on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Schiff (D)	31.6	2,304,829
✔		Steve Garvey (R)	31.5	2,301,351
		Katie Porter (D)	15.3	1,118,429
		Barbara Lee (D)	9.8	717,129
		Eric Early (R)	3.3	242,055
		James P. Bradley (R)	1.4	98,778
		Christina Pascucci (D)	0.8	61,998
		Sharleta Bassett (R)	0.8	54,884
		Sarah Sun Liew (R)	0.5	38,718
	Submit photo	Laura Garza (No party preference)	0.5	34,529
		Jonathan Reiss (R)	0.5	34,400
		Sepi Gilani (D)	0.5	34,316
		Gail Lightfoot (L)	0.5	33,295
		Denice Gary-Pandol (R)	0.4	25,649
		James Macauley (R)	0.3	23,296
		Harmesh Kumar (D)	0.3	21,624
		David Peterson (D)	0.3	21,170
		Douglas Howard Pierce (D)	0.3	19,458
		Major Singh (No party preference)	0.2	17,092
		John Rose (D)	0.2	14,627
		Perry Pound (D)	0.2	14,195
		Raji Rab (D)	0.2	13,640
		Mark Ruzon (No party preference)	0.2	13,488
		Forrest Jones (American Independent Party of California)	0.2	13,140
	Submit photo	Stefan Simchowitz (R)	0.2	12,773
		Martin Veprauskas (R)	0.1	9,795
		Don Grundmann (No party preference)	0.1	6,641
		Michael Dilger (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	7
		Carlos Guillermo Tapia (R) (Write-in)	0.0	5
	Submit photo	John Dowell (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	3
		Danny Fabricant (R) (Write-in)	0.0	3

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,301,317
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lexi Reese (D)
• Alexander Norbash (D)
• Renee Martinez (No party preference)
• Dominick Dorothy (D)
• Joshua Bocanegra (D)
• Barack Obama Mandela (R)
• Joe Sosinski (No party preference)
• James Shuster (R)
• Rommell Montenegro (D)
• Zakaria Kortam (R)
• John Pappenheim (R)
• Jacob Farmos (D)
• Roxanne Lawler (R)
• Jessica Resendez (D)
• Jeremy Fennell (D)
• Carson Franklin Jr. (D)
• Fepbrina Keivaulqe Autiameineire (Vienmerisce Veittemeignzce USA)
• Paul Anderson (G)
• Peter Liu (R)
• Dana Bobbitt (No party preference)
• Zafar Inam (D)
• Jehu Hand (R)
• Eduardo Berdugo (No party preference)
• Frank Ferreira (No party preference)

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

U.S. Senate election in California, 2024: General election polls
Poll	Date	Schiff	Garvey	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size	Sponsor
Emerson College Polling	Oct. 12-14, 2024	56%	33%	11%	± 3.5	1,000 LV	The Hill
University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies	Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2024	53%	36%	9%	± 2.5	3,045 LV	Los Angeles Times
Center for Urban Politics and Policy, CSU Long Beach/University of Southern California/Cal Poly Pomona	Sept. 12-25, 2024	56%	37%	7%	± 2.4	1,685 LV	N/A
ActiVote	Aug. 13-Sept. 21, 2024	63%	37%	N/A	± 4.9	400 LV	N/A
Public Policy Institute of California	Aug. 29-Sept. 9, 2024	63%	35%	2%	± 3.7	1,071 LV	N/A
Emerson College	Sept. 3-5, 2024	55%	33%	13%	± 3.4	815 LV	The Hill
ActiVote	July 16-Aug. 12, 2024	66%	34%	N/A	± 4.9	400 LV	N/A
University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies	July 31-Aug. 11, 2024	53%	33%	14%	± 2.0	3,765 LV	Los Angeles Times
Public Policy Institute of California	June 24-July 2, 2024	64%	33%	2%	± 3.7	1,261 LV	N/A
Public Policy Institute of California	May 23-June 2, 2024	62%	37%	1%	± 3.7	1,095 LV	N/A
Public Policy Institute of California	Mar. 19-25, 2024	61%	37%	2%	± 3.9	1,089 LV	N/A

Click [show] to see older poll results
Poll	Date	Schiff	Garvey	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size	Sponsor
Emerson College	Feb. 24-27, 2024	32%	22%	17%	± 3	1,000 LV	The Hill, Inside California Politics
University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies	Feb. 22-27, 2024	25%	27%	9%	± 2	3,304 LV	Los Angeles Times
Emerson College	Feb. 16-18, 2024	28%	22%	17%	± 3	935 LV	The Hill, Inside California Politics
Public Policy Institute of California	Feb. 6-13, 2024	24%	18%	17%	± 3	1,000 LV	N/A

Election campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Sepi Gilani	Democratic Party	$13,764	$11,559	$2,205	As of December 31, 2024
Harmesh Kumar	Democratic Party	$16,528	$12,845	$3,418	As of September 30, 2023
Barbara Lee	Democratic Party	$5,809,488	$5,760,696	$48,792	As of December 31, 2024
Christina Pascucci	Democratic Party	$456,535	$456,535	$0	As of March 28, 2024
David Peterson	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Douglas Howard Pierce	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Katie Porter	Democratic Party	$32,527,821	$31,114,157	$1,413,664	As of December 31, 2024
Perry Pound	Democratic Party	$34,129	$34,129	$0	As of December 31, 2024
Raji Rab	Democratic Party	$20,900	$21,275	$-375	As of December 31, 2024
John Rose	Democratic Party	$6,318	$6,193	$125	As of December 31, 2024
Adam Schiff	Democratic Party	$48,145,897	$62,787,830	$6,381,027	As of December 31, 2024
Sharleta Bassett	Republican Party	$23,079	$23,079	$0	As of April 19, 2024
James P. Bradley	Republican Party	$196,983	$180,015	$17,052	As of December 31, 2024
Eric Early	Republican Party	$904,179	$902,114	$2,065	As of December 31, 2024
Danny Fabricant	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Steve Garvey	Republican Party	$20,356,133	$19,775,164	$580,969	As of December 31, 2024
Denice Gary-Pandol	Republican Party	$129,409	$128,953	$456	As of December 31, 2024
Sarah Sun Liew	Republican Party	$48,420	$30,978	$241	As of September 30, 2024
James Macauley	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Jonathan Reiss	Republican Party	$14,156	$15,576	$39	As of December 31, 2024
Stefan Simchowitz	Republican Party	$8,524	$8,524	$0	As of March 12, 2024
Carlos Guillermo Tapia	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Martin Veprauskas	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Forrest Jones	American Independent Party of California	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Gail Lightfoot	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Michael Dilger	No party preference	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
John Dowell	No party preference	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Laura Garza	No party preference	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Don Grundmann	No party preference	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Mark Ruzon	No party preference	$25,489	$25,489	$0	As of March 31, 2024
Major Singh	No party preference	$4,201	$4,943	$514	As of December 31, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

As of Oct. 28, 2024, the two major party candidates had the fourth largest difference in terms of total money raised between major party Senate candidates and the largest difference in terms of total spending. Click here to learn more.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

If available, satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. FEC links include totals from monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports. OpenSecrets.org compiles data from those reports as well as 24- and 48-hour reports from the FEC.

Details about satellite spending of significant amounts and/or reported by media are included below those links. The amounts listed may not represent the total satellite spending in the election. To notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.

By candidate	By election
Adam Schiff Steve Garvey	Open Secrets Federal Election Commission

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in California, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Endorsements

Garvey received the following endorsements.

• U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R)
• org
• San Diego Police Officers Association
• California Congress of Republicans

Special election

See also: United States Senate special election in California, 2024

General election

Special general election for U.S. Senate California

Adam Schiff defeated Steve Garvey in the special general election for U.S. Senate California on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Schiff (D)	58.8	8,837,051
		Steve Garvey (R)	41.2	6,204,637

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,041,688
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

The following candidates ran in the special primary for U.S. Senate California on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Garvey (R)	33.2	2,455,115
✔		Adam Schiff (D)	29.3	2,160,171
		Katie Porter (D)	17.2	1,272,684
		Barbara Lee (D)	11.7	866,551
		Eric Early (R)	6.1	451,274
		Christina Pascucci (D)	1.5	109,867
		Sepi Gilani (D)	0.9	68,497
		Michael Dilger (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	27

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,384,186
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Garvey received the following endorsements.

• San Diego Police Officers Association

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Garvey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign ads

October 10, 2023

View more ads here:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitter

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Garvey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Garvey’s campaign website stated the following:

“	EDUCATION A quality education is the single most powerful tool we can provide for the future generations. Unfortunately, in California, we have failed to live up to that promise and have accepted failing public schools that do not prepare our kids to succeed. We know how to fix the problem. The solutions are simple. We must empower parents and teachers who know what’s best for their children and students. We need to put the interest of all students first. We must give them a first-class education and teach them how to succeed. We must provide parents with more choices, reward great teachers, and bring back important trade skills to our education system. We must work together to make sure our schools are the best they can possibly be. QUALITY OF LIFE For the first time in history, more people are leaving California because they can’t afford to live in our great state. This is a direct result of our career politicians in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. continuously passing foolish laws and increasing taxes and fees, resulting in higher costs for our basic needs, such as food, gas, and shelter. By allowing the cost of living crisis to explode, we have failed our middle class and working families from experiencing the California dream. As your Senator, I will take a stand against out-of-control inflation and be a voice for the middle class and working families that are the backbone of our state. PUBLIC SAFETY Across California, rising crime is destroying our communities. No Californian should be afraid to walk down the street, take their kids to school, or run their small businesses. For too long Sacramento has gambled the future of our communities with misguided laws. We need to return to common-sense policies that hold criminals accountable, protect our victims, and places the safety of our families before politics. Our police departments need to be funded, our communities need to be engaged, and we must do all we can to make sure our neighborhoods and schools are safe. Make no mistake, the best way to deter crime is to enforce our laws, and I will lead the charge to make sure our laws are followed. NATIONAL SECURITY A strong United States means a safer world. With emerging threats around the globe, it’s more important than ever for the United States to renew our commitment to our alliances and our role in global leadership. We must invest in modernizing our military and achieve peace through strength. It’s important that we work close with our allies and be prepared for the threats of tomorrow while actively positioning ourselves to counter the expansion of hostile foreign powers. More than anything, in order for us to be strong abroad, we must be strong at home. We need leaders in Washington who will make level-headed decisions in the face of a rapidly changing and dangerous world. HOMELESSNESS There’s no greater failure for today’s California than the homelessness crisis. Hundreds of thousands are suffering and dying on the streets. Career politicians dodge responsibility and shift the blame to others. We must get real about addressing the underlying causes of homelessness, including health and drug addiction. We can solve this problem with accountability and compassion. But it takes real leaders and a willingness to put politics aside and do what’s best for our state and all of our people. SMALL BUSINESS Innovation and entrepreneurship are at the heart of who we are as Californians. But for too many, the California dream has faded, as high taxes and red tape have made it impossible to start a small business and create jobs in our state. With communities as diverse and dynamic as ours, there’s no reason that we should be losing businesses and quality jobs to other states like Texas, Florida, and Nevada. It’s time for a new approach that embraces small businesses and job creation, gets government out of the way, and taps into the spirit of hard-working small business owners and job creators across California.	”
—Steve Garvey’s campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Steve Garvey campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. Senate California	Lost general	$18,161,725	$17,047,488
2024*	U.S. Senate California	Lost general	$20,356,133	$19,775,164
Grand total			$38,517,858	$36,822,652
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

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Candidate

U.S. Senate California

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Footnotes

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Alex Padilla (D)

Adam Schiff (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

Kevin Kiley (R)

District 4

Mike Thompson (D)

District 5

Tom McClintock (R)

District 6

Ami Bera (D)

District 7

Doris Matsui (D)

District 8

John Garamendi (D)

District 9

Josh Harder (D)

District 10

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 11

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 12

Lateefah Simon (D)

District 13

Adam Gray (D)

District 14

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 15

Kevin Mullin (D)

District 16

Sam Liccardo (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 19

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 20

Vince Fong (R)

District 21

Jim Costa (D)

District 22

David Valadao (R)

District 23

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

George Whitesides (D)

District 28

Judy Chu (D)

District 29

Luz Rivas (D)

District 30

Laura Friedman (D)

District 31

Gil Cisneros (D)

District 32

Brad Sherman (D)

District 33

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Ted Lieu (D)

District 37

Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Mark Takano (D)

District 40

Young Kim (R)

District 41

Ken Calvert (R)

District 42

Robert Garcia (D)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Derek Tran (D)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Dave Min (D)

District 48

Darrell Issa (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Scott Peters (D)

District 51

Sara Jacobs (D)

District 52

Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic Party (45)

Republican Party (9)