VOTERS WERE STILL UNDECIDED. SO AS IT APPEARS THAT GARVEY IS NOW THE REPUBLICANS BEST CHANCE OF WINNING THIS ELECTION, HE’S PROMISING VOTERS THAT HE’S MODERATE ENOUGH TO REPRESENT THE ENTIRE STATE. I’M A TEAM BUILDER. I’M A CONSENSUS BUILDER, AND I THINK THAT’S WHAT WE NEED. WHEN STEVE GARVEY ANNOUNCED HIS RUN FOR U.S. SENATE, IT LAUNCHED HIM INTO A VERY DIFFERENT FIELD FROM THE PLACE HE USED TO MAKE NEWS IN HIGH TO RIGHT CENTER FIELD, WAY BACK GOING, GOING. IT IS GOOD. GARVEY WAS A STAR PLAYER FOR BOTH THE DODGERS AND THE PADRES. HE RETIRED FROM BASEBALL IN 1987, AND SINCE THEN HE’S WORKED ON BUSINESSES, VOLUNTEERED FOR NONPROFIT EFFORTS AND GIVEN SPEECHES. LAST SPRING, HE STARTED TO THINK ABOUT A NEW CAREER. I’VE BEEN APPROACHED BY, UH, REALLY? BOTH PARTIES. INDIVIDUALS ASKED ME IF I WOULD CONSIDER RUNNING, UM, BOTH PARTIES NEED SOMEBODY WITH A COMMON SENSE VOICE, AND I PEOPLE I THINK PEOPLE KNOW ME AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. THEY KNOW THAT THEY DO HAVE COMMON SENSE. I’M PRAGMATIC AND POLITICALLY. GARVEY DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS MODERATE ON ISSUES INCLUDING ACCESS TO LEGAL ABORTIONS. THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS SPOKEN, AND AS THE NEXT ELECTED U.S. SENATOR, UM, I WILL ALWAYS RESPECT THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA AND PLEDGED TO SUPPORT THAT VOICE. SO YOU WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL BAN ON ABORTION, FOR INSTANCE, I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL BAN. I KNOW YOU HAVE SAID THAT YOU DO BELIEVE THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS A CONCERN. THE QUESTION REALLY IS WHAT WOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT? YEAH, I BELIEVE IT’S REAL. I BELIEVE IT’S BOTH NATURAL AND MAN MADE. EVOLUTION OF OF THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN. UH, I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WAYS FOR CLEANER ENERGY. UM, I’VE WATCHED WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE. UH, I THOUGHT THE ADMINISTRATION HAD ACTED EXTREMELY FAST IN MAKING DECISIONS, UH, OF TRYING TO CONVINCE THE PEOPLE THAT WITHIN TEN YEARS, WE ALL HAVE TO BE DRIVING ELECTRIC VEHICLES. WE ALL HAVE TO NOT COOK WITH GAS ANYMORE. GARVEY DOES NOT SUPPORT THOSE VEHICLE OR NATURAL GAS RESTRICTIONS. IN RECENT WEEKS, HE’S BEEN LOOKING INTO SOME ISSUES. PERSONALLY, I DON’T HAVE TO KNOW. UH, PASSPORTS, INCLUDING SPENDING TIME AT A SACRAMENTO HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT. THEY DON’T WANT TO LIVE HERE. THEY WANT A WARM SHELTER. WELL, HE DIDN’T OFFER A PLAN FOR ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS FROM A FEDERAL LEVEL. HE DID SAY HIS APPROACH IN THE SENATE WOULD BE LESS PARTIZAN THAN HIS DEMOCRATIC OPPONENTS. MY OPPONENTS ARE VOTING 9,697% STRAIGHT DOWN PARTY LINES. YES, I GUARANTEE YOU I WILL NOT VOTE THAT. CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A VOTE THAT WENT DOWN ALONG REPUBLICAN PARTY LINES IN IN THE SENATE, WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE VOTED DIFFERENTLY. I’LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT ONE. OKAY. AND I’LL GIVE YOU MORE THAN ONE. OKAY. EXCUSE ME, BUT THERE ALWAYS IS. I MEAN, IF AND I SAY WHEN I GO BACK TO THE SENATE, THE FIRST DAY WILL START THE PROCESS OF MEETING WITH ALL 99 SENATORS AND INTRODUCING MYSELF. AND MOST OF THEM WILL KNOW ME AND AND I’LL SAY, I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU. PART OF THAT WORK WOULD INCLUDE INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, INCLUDING DECIDING FUNDING FOR UKRAINE AND ISRAEL. HE SUPPORTS BOTH STAND BY ISRAEL, ONE OF OUR GREATEST ALLIES OVER 75 YEARS. OUR MOST IMPORTANT ALLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. UH, THEY WERE ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPING ONE NIGHT. AND ON OCTOBER 7TH, UM, AND I THINK THAT WE’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING AND NOT ONLY ISRAEL, BUT UKRAINE. AND WHILE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE OFTEN ASSESSED BASED ON THEIR ALLIANCE WITH OR DISTANCE FROM FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, GARVEY HAS TAKEN SOME HEAT FOR DECLINING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER HE WOULD VOTE FOR TRUMP THIS YEAR OR ACCEPT AN ENDORSEMENT, BUT HE DID EXPLAIN HIS VOTES IN 2016 AND 2020. I THOUGHT THAT HE WAS THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB, AND I THINK HE DID SOME WONDERFUL THINGS FOR FOR CRIME AND THE ECONOMY. GARVEY AND HIS WIFE, CANDICE, LIVE NEAR PALM SPRINGS. HE HAS SEVEN KIDS AND SEVEN GRANDKIDS. HIS CHARITY WORK INCLUDES AUCTIONING OFF HIS OWN MEMORABILIA TO RAISE MONEY FOR PROSTATE CANCER. AS A SURVIVOR HIMSELF, IF THIS WAS THE BAT, NEARLY 40 YEARS AFTER LEAVING THE SPORT THAT MADE HIM A LEGEND, GARVEY IS NOW HOPING TO DEVELOP A WHOLE NEW SET OF FANS. IF YOU BECOME OUR U.S. SENATOR REPRESENTING CALIFORNIA, WHAT IS ONE THING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT YOU’D FEEL REALLY PROUD OF? THAT WOULD JUST BE A STEVE GARVEY ACCOMPLISHMENT. AND I THINK WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE, AND I’LL ONLY BE ONE TURN, THAT PEOPLE WILL LOOK BACK YEARS FROM NOW AND THEY’LL BE ASKED THAT QUESTION AND THEY’LL SAY, I WANT TO BE A STEVE GARVEY SENATOR. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THAT COMPASSIONATE COMMON SENSE? UH, LOOKED UP TO BY THE PEOPLE, RESPECTED BY THE PEOPLE AND AS YOU MAY HAVE CAUGHT IN THE LAST PART OF THAT INTERVIEW, STEVE GARVEY SAYS IF HE’S ELECTED, HE ONLY PLANS TO SERVE ONE TERMS. AND HE TOLD ME THAT’S
U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey on his campaign, desire to appeal to needs of most Californians
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Updated: 6:34 PM PST Feb 16, 2024
Steve Garvey, a former Major League Baseball star player for the Dodgers and Padres, is running for California's U.S. Senate seat. Polling shows he is the leading Republican candidate, and he's been working to convince voters that his political ideologies are moderate enough to appeal to the best interests of the majority of Californians. "I'm a team builder. I'm a consensus builder, and I think that's what we need," Garvey said during a recent campaign stop in the Sacramento region. Garvey retired from baseball in 1987, and since then, he's worked on businesses, volunteered for nonprofits and given speeches. Last spring, he started to think about a new career when he said he was approached by members of both parties. "Both parties need somebody with a common sense voice," Garvey said. "I think people know me after all these years. They know that I do have common sense. I'm pragmatic." Politically, Garvey describes himself as moderate on issues including access to legal abortions. He says he would vote against a federal abortion ban. He believes that climate change is a concern, and would support work toward cleaner energy sources. However, he does not support the governmental timelines for a transition to electric vehicles and restrictions on gas stoves. On a tour of a Sacramento homeless encampment, he noted that unsheltered people told him they didn't want to live in tents and that they wanted warm shelter. He did not offer a plan for addressing homelessness at a federal level. On a number of issues, he said he is still developing his positions. "When I go back to the Senate, the first day, I will start the process of meeting with all 99 senators and introducing myself. Most of them will know me and will say, 'I want to work with you,'" he said. Part of that work would include international politics, including deciding funding for Ukraine and Israel. He supports both. "I stand by Israel, one of our greatest allies over 75 years, our most important ally in the Middle East," Garvey said. "I think that we're doing the right thing in not only Israel, but Ukraine." While Republican candidates are often assessed based on their alliance with — or distance from — former President Donald Trump, Garvey has taken some heat for declining to answer questions about whether he would vote for Trump this year, or accept an endorsement from Trump. He did explain his votes for Trump in 2016 and 2020. "I thought that he was the best person for the job, and I think he did some wonderful things for crime and the economy," Garvey said. Garvey and his wife Candace live near Palm Springs. He has seven children and seven grandkids. His charity work includes auctioning off his own memorabilia to raise money for prostate cancer, as a survivor himself. Nearly 40 years after leaving the sport that made him a legend, Garvey is now hoping to develop a whole new set of fans. "I think when it's all said and done, and I'll only be one term, that people will look back years from now ... and they'll say, 'I want to be a Steve Garvey Senator,'" he said. He defined that this way: "Compassionate, common sense, looked up to by the people, respected by the people."As for the other leading candidates, here is where you can find our interviews with them: KCRA 3 sits down with U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Barbara LeeKCRA 3 sits down with U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Katie PorterKCRA sites down with U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff More Election CoverageHave you received your California primary election ballot? Here's what you can doCalifornia March 5 Primary Election: Important dates, deadlines for voters, how to registerFind all candidates on California 2024 primary ballot hereHow to vote, track your ballot in California's 2024 primary electionHere is your 2024 California voter guide for races, measures
Steve Garvey, a former Major League Baseball star player for the Dodgers and Padres, is running for California's U.S. Senate seat.
Polling shows he is the leading Republican candidate, and he's been working to convince voters that his political ideologies are moderate enough to appeal to the best interests of the majority of Californians.
"I'm a team builder. I'm a consensus builder, and I think that's what we need," Garvey said during a recent campaign stop in the Sacramento region.
Garvey retired from baseball in 1987, and since then, he's worked on businesses, volunteered for nonprofits and given speeches. Last spring, he started to think about a new career when he said he was approached by members of both parties.
"Both parties need somebody with a common sense voice," Garvey said. "I think people know me after all these years. They know that I do have common sense. I'm pragmatic."
Politically, Garvey describes himself as moderate on issues including access to legal abortions. He says he would vote against a federal abortion ban.
He believes that climate change is a concern, and would support work toward cleaner energy sources. However, he does not support the governmental timelines for a transition to electric vehicles and restrictions on gas stoves.
On a tour of a Sacramento homeless encampment, he noted that unsheltered people told him they didn't want to live in tents and that they wanted warm shelter. He did not offer a plan for addressing homelessness at a federal level.
On a number of issues, he said he is still developing his positions.
"When I go back to the Senate, the first day, I will start the process of meeting with all 99 senators and introducing myself. Most of them will know me and will say, 'I want to work with you,'" he said.
Part of that work would include international politics, including deciding funding for Ukraine and Israel. He supports both.
"I stand by Israel, one of our greatest allies over 75 years, our most important ally in the Middle East," Garvey said. "I think that we're doing the right thing in not only Israel, but Ukraine."
While Republican candidates are often assessed based on their alliance with — or distance from — former President Donald Trump, Garvey has taken some heat for declining to answer questions about whether he would vote for Trump this year, or accept an endorsement from Trump. He did explain his votes for Trump in 2016 and 2020.
"I thought that he was the best person for the job, and I think he did some wonderful things for crime and the economy," Garvey said.
Garvey and his wife Candace live near Palm Springs. He has seven children and seven grandkids.
His charity work includes auctioning off his own memorabilia to raise money for prostate cancer, as a survivor himself.
Nearly 40 years after leaving the sport that made him a legend, Garvey is now hoping to develop a whole new set of fans.
"I think when it's all said and done, and I'll only be one term, that people will look back years from now ... and they'll say, 'I want to be a Steve Garvey Senator,'" he said.
He defined that this way: "Compassionate, common sense, looked up to by the people, respected by the people."
As for the other leading candidates, here is where you can find our interviews with them:
More Election Coverage
