With her signature minivan parked in the parking lot and an “I Voted” sticker freshly attached to her magenta dress, Rep. Katie Porter stared at the crush of reporters and television cameras packed into her Irvine polling place.
“Wait,” he paused and turned to the woman running the polling station. “Can I answer these questions here or do you want me to come out if they are related to the campaign?”
Porter, always forceful as a law professor, even in the final days of her Senate campaign, wanted to make sure she followed applicable election rules before continuing with her impromptu Saturday morning news conference.
As his son Luke Hoffman, 18, marked his ballot for the first time a few feet away, Porter sounded the familiar notes of his campaign speech: that Californians were frustrated with Washington, fed up with career politicians and ready for a senator like her, who would do things differently.
“I am the only Democratic elected official running in this race who has never received corporate PAC money. That makes me different. “My vote is not for sale,” Porter said.
And then the single mother returned to the slightly beat-up Toyota Sienna and told her son he could use the car after she took his sister to play water polo.
With just days before polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, the top three Democrats toured the state hoping their final speeches would connect with voters. After voting Saturday morning, Porter made no other public appearances, but resurfaced Sunday afternoon for an event in San Francisco.
His main competitor, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, chartered a small private plane for the weekend, allowing him to cover much more ground across the state. And Rep. Barbara Lee had events in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.
Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey, a Republican who has held few public events and hasn't paid for a single television ad, was absent from the fray all weekend.
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On the eve of the closest Senate race in decades, Porter is now in third place in the polls and appears likely to be shut out of the November runoff.
Schiff's controversial tactic of exaggerating Garvey appears to have been successful, helping propel the first-time candidate to first place in a field divided by three Democratic members of Congress running to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's former seat.
Schiff and Porter are national Democratic luminaries, while Leeward has deep progressive credentials honed over a quarter century in Congress.
Schiff and his followers have spent millions running ads characterizing Garvey, a political novice who has barely campaigned, as his main rival in the competitive race for the Senate and a fervent disciple of former President Trump.
Rep. Adam Schiff addresses a campaign event at the UA Union Hall in Orange on Saturday. Schiff is running to fill the seat vacated by Senator Dianne Feinstein.
(Paul Rodríguez / For The Times)
Announcements They would surely increase the former first baseman's appeal among Republican voters, although Porter has criticized the tactic as “blatantly cynical.”
Under California's primary system, only two candidates who receive the most votes in the March 5 election will advance to the November general election, regardless of their political party.
UC Berkeley's latest Institute for Government Studies poll co-sponsored by The Times showed Garvey with a slight lead, winning the support of 27% of likely voters to Schiff's 25% and Porter's 19%.
Lee, who has fallen behind Schiff and Porter Over the long race, he received 8%, while 12% of likely voters chose a different candidate and 9% were undecided.
All of this has put the Burbank congressman in a strong position to potentially reach a runoff with Garvey, an outcome that would all but guarantee his promotion to the Senate in a general election, given that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2 to 1 in the elections. state.
But the race is not over yet.
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Schiff kicked off his campaign weekend at a plumbers and steamfitters union hall in Orange early Saturday morning.
Before he appeared, his supporters walked around carrying signs that read “Schiff for Senate” and others showing a Shepard Fairey rendition of Schiff's apple-cheeked face. Some wore buttons depicting a young, shirtless Schiff on a bicycle with the caption: “Ridin' With Schiff.”
Miten Bhatt, 55, of San Bernardino, drove to Orange Saturday morning to see Schiff. It was the computer programmer's first political rally. Although he is not actively involved in politics, Bhatt said, he tries to follow the news and respected that Schiff was not afraid to confront Trump during the impeachment trial.
“He's standing up for what's right,” Bhatt said. “Most of Washington seems pretty corrupt, but he seems like a straight guy.”
Pam Dunsmore, 36, and her husband, Jaymes, 35, of Fullerton, attended the rally with their 1-year-old daughter, Addie, who was wearing pink socks and a onesie with hearts.
Dunsmore, a professor at Fullerton College, said she likes both Porter and Schiff and was still trying to decide how she would vote. She said she didn't see many significant differences in her political positions and she hoped that seeing Schiff “in person” would help her decide.
“I'm really impressed with both of them,” Dunsmore said.
After Schiff took the stage, he was interrupted six times by protesters who shouted at him, one by one, to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and to stop supporting US military aid to Israel.
Schiff continued his written speech without acknowledging the interruption as security guards removed the protesters.
“We are Californians and we march forward, always forward, leading the rest of the country,” Schiff said, as protesters chanted “Cease fire now!” through megaphones outside.
Schiff’s supporters chanted “Adam! Adam!” and a staff member closed the entrance to the parking lot to minimize noise.
Rep. Barbara Lee (R), who is running for the U.S. Senate, shakes hands with California State Senate candidate Alex Mohajer at the Back Bay Conference Center in Irvine on Saturday.
(Ringo Chiu / For The Times)
Several hours later, in a second-floor conference room above a busy Irvine bowling alley, mention of Lee's long-standing support for a ceasefire sparked applause and cheers, as did talk about his “coalition.” multiracial and multigenerational progressive.” and defense of defense spending.
“We only have about 77 hours left,” Lee said, decrying the low voter turnout so far and telling the roughly two dozen people in the room that he was counting on them to be his “trusted messengers” to get the word out. voice.
She also seemed to draw a direct comparison between herself, Schiff and Porter, saying, “When people ask what the differences are between me and my opponents, I just have to say that there are more differences than similarities.”
All three Democrats entered the race when Feinstein was still alive, and the long shadow of California's first female senator loomed over the race in its early days. Feinstein died in September at age 90.
With a nonagenarian incumbent, the race was inherently about a generational shift. But Schiff, who has been in Congress since 2001 and touted endorsements from establishment figures like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has positioned himself as the continuity candidate who would continue Feinstein's legacy. The more iconoclastic Porter has oriented herself as the agent of change, competing, to some extent, against the DC establishment that Schiff represents.
For months, the race largely focused on these two Democratic superstars, with both leaning toward their respective national personalities as they darted toward presumptive positions in a November runoff. But Garvey's entry in mid-October finally stirred up the field, giving California's shrinking but still far from insignificant Republican base a candidate to support.
In San Francisco's Mission District, Porter stood before a packed room of 200 people Sunday at Manny's, a local community space and coffee shop.
Attendees applauded as she touted how she had not accepted money from corporate political action committees, and several lined up to take photos asking her to sign their whiteboards.
“This is an opportunity for us to define California as the vanguard of democracy,” Porter said.
Oakland resident Travis Richards agreed. Lee is her representative, but she ultimately said Porter's experience in consumer protection law and her experience in taking on entrenched powers would make her the best senator of the three candidates.
“She is guided from a moral place. I love that about her,” he said.
About a hundred miles south, in Salinas, Mike Ferrin and his wife, Suzi, arrived early Sunday afternoon to sit front row at Schiff's campaign event on the second floor of a historic building downtown .
Ferrin, who is retired, said he had not been familiar with Schiff until President Trump's first impeachment trial. Ferrin said he saw him on MSNBC and was impressed by his intelligence and his moral guidance.
Ferrin had seen the UC Berkeley/Times poll that suggested Garvey was leading Schiff among likely voters, and questioned what qualifications Garvey had to be in Congress. Ferrin, a longtime San Francisco Giants fan, had his own memories of Garvey from the candidate's days in Dodger baseball.
“I remember supporting him then,” Ferrin said, “and I'm still supporting him now.”
