Sleepy California Senate race is getting a wee bit livelier

With California’s March 5 primary election less than three weeks away and ballots already landing in mailboxes, the state’s languid Senate race is showing signs of life.

On Monday night in San Francisco, the top four candidates in the race squared off in their second debate, spending an hour fielding some pretty cutting questions — including whether they thought President Biden and former President Trump were too old to run for reelection.

Biden’s age has been in the news quite a bit this past week after a special counsel investigating whether Biden mishandled classified documents during his previous positions as vice president and senator claimed that the president couldn’t remember major milestones in his life. Keep reading below for a California twist on that brouhaha.

All four candidates — Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam B. Schiff, plus former baseball star and Republican hopeful Steve Garvey — basically said no to the age question. For more illuminating details of the debate, check out the story by Times reporters Ben Oreskes and Laura J. Nelson.

Refreshingly, the debate lacked any major attacks or cross-talk that we usually see in these events. That’s because the moderators, Frank Buckley of Los Angeles’ KTLA-TV and Nikki Laurenzo of Sacramento’s KTXL-TV, dished out some pointed questions, called out candidates who tried to sidestep questions and cut off anyone who yammered past their allotted time to answer. Stations airing the presidential debates could have learned a thing or two.

I’m Phil Willon, the assistant editor in The Times’ Sacramento bureau, filling in this week for Laurel Rosenhall. Here‘s the week’s biggest news in California politics

Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third

Having a hard time keeping track of the top candidates in California’s 2024 Senate race? Well, the good news is that, if you read the Times, the race is easier to follow than an Abbott and Costello comedy routine.

The past lives of the top candidates couldn’t be more varied. Former Dodgers first baseman Garvey was a pitchman for family-friendly Nestle Quik, Lee volunteered with the revolutionary Black Panther Party, Porter taught consumer protection law at UC Irvine and Schiff was a federal prosecutor. The Times took a deeper look at all four. The stories are worth a read as you prepare to vote:

• Steve Garvey touts ‘family values’ in his Senate bid. Some of his kids tell another story
• From working with Black Panthers to calling for cease-fire, Barbara Lee stands by her beliefs
• How Katie Porter harnesses her blunt style and single-mom experience in her Senate campaign
• Long before he took on Trump, Adam Schiff’s pursuit of tough justice defined his career

These stories are just part of our coverage of California’s 2024 election.

Attacks on Biden’s age stir up whispers about you-know-who

Washington is all aflutter with chatter about Biden’s age and ability to serve a second term. That, of course, once again has revived speculation about whether California Gov. Gavin Newsom may swoop in to become the Democratic presidential nominee if Biden, for whatever reason, steps aside.

But, according to Times reporters Taryn Luna and Noah Bierman, don’t bet on that happening.

Despite renewed anxiety over the president’s age, Democratic Party officials and pollsters say swapping him out is a bad idea, and nearly impossible without Biden’s sign-off.

“No one who’s done this at this level thinks that removing the sitting president of the United States, who’s a Democrat, from your ballot is remotely plausible,” said Cornell Belcher, one of former President Obama’s pollsters. “It’s completely absurd.”

Even some of the most liberal Democrats pushed back on the idea.

R.L. Miller, a Democratic National Committee delegate from California and founder of Climate Hawks Vote, described the possibility of Biden stepping out of the race as “an extraordinarily unlikely scenario” and the odds that the party would tap Newsom to replace him as even more remote.

“You might as well write about the possibility of asteroids crashing out of the sky and wiping out all light west of the Hudson where ‘The View’ is filmed,” Miller said.

And, as a bonus, Times columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Steve Lopez provide some illuminating perspective and sage advice to Biden.

Keeping up with California politics

Democrats are emphasizing abortion to mobilize voters. Will it work in Orange County?
Since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision, abortion policy and the push for a federal ban on the procedure in the Republican-controlled House have been at the forefront of Democratic campaigns. But how well the issue mobilizes voters in the four Orange County-based districts that are expected to be among the nation’s most competitive in this election remains unclear.

Half of Republicans say California isn’t really American
California’s national reputation as a place of dreams and prosperity is in jeopardy, battered by Republicans who dislike almost all aspects of the state and many Democrats who see it as too costly and a poor place to raise a family. Nationwide, 50% of U.S. adults believe the state is in decline, according to a new survey for the Los Angeles Times.

Skelton: Credit Newsom for trying to alleviate homelessness, not that he has much choice
Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “treatment not tents” ballot measure, would make only a puny dent in homelessness. But it’s still the biggest attempt ever by a California governor to address the growing problem. Give Newsom credit for earnestly wading into this mess and trying to fix it — not that he has a choice.

Schiff supporters air ads focused on GOP rival Steve Garvey in California Senate race
Supporters of Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff’s Senate bid plan to spend millions of dollars before the March 5 California primary airing television ads focused solely on Republican candidate Steve Garvey. The ads may help Garvey, a former Dodgers All-Star first baseman, attract enough support among California Republicans to edge out Schiff’s top Democratic rival in the primary, Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine, setting up an easier path for the congressman from Burbank to win in the November general election.