We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Anyone who follows California politics will know that California adopted a “jungle” primary system some time ago, in which all candidates for an office in the spring primary run on a single ballot line, with the top two finishers advancing to the November general election. The Republican Party has fallen so low in California in recent years that several U.S. Senate races have come down to two Democrats in November. Kamala Harris squared off against fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez in 2016, while Dianne Feinstein faced Los Angeles Democrat Kevin de Leon in 2018.

This year three Democratic House members of note are vying to replace the late Feinstein: the egregious Adam Schiff, the showboat Katie Porter, and the race-mongering Barbara Lee. Early polls last fall showed Porter in the lead ahead of Schiff, with Lee a distant third. The only Republican in the race with any name ID is former Los Angeles Dodgers star Steve Garvey.

Lately the TV airwaves have been blanketed with ads from Schiff attacking Steve Garvey in a manner that looks like a general election campaign. The ads attack Garvey for having voted for Trump twice and for being “too conservative for California.”  Unlike most TV ads that use unflattering black and white photos, the pictures and video of Garvey are attractive and flattering. It’s almost as though Schiff is trying to boost Garvey (who has very little cash and is running no ads) in the primary and make sure Garvey is his opponent in November, and not a fellow Democrat.

And that’s exactly what he’s doing. Recent polls show Garvey moving into second place, and Porter is hopping mad about it. California is so lopsidedly Democratic now that Garvey would be a longshot for November, but it would be nice to have a Republican on the general election ballot for the first time in more than a decade. And you never know: Schiff is so repulsive that an effective campaign might just enable Garvey to score an upset.

Here’s one recent TV report that captures the dynamics of the race: