Who is Steve Garvey? Former MLB star turned California Republican to battle Adam Schiff for Senate
Former Major League Baseball great Steve Garvey managed to make the general election cut in California’s bruising Senate contest on Super Tuesday, but now faces an uphill battle to win the whole thing.
For weeks, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) had been working to amplify Garvey, the Republican newcomer, hoping to snuff out any lingering challenges from Schiff’s fellow Democrats in the general.
Under the Golden State’s “jungle primary” system, the top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 5 vote regardless of party affiliation.
If either Democratic Reps. Katie Porter or Barbara Lee had edged out Garvey, Schiff would have faced another well-funded leftist in the the general election.
Schiff, 63, is heavily favored to claim the Senate seat once held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who died last year.
But Garvey, one of the most popular sporting figures in California history, is still hopeful.
“What you all are feeling tonight is what it’s like to hit a walk-off home run,” Garvey told his supporters in Los Angeles Tuesday evening before reminding them: “Keep in mind, this is the first game of a doubleheader.”
Who is Steve Garvey?
Garvey, 75, jumped into the hotly contested California Senate primary last fall, months after Democratic heavy hitters Schiff, Porter, and Lee tossed their hats into the ring.
The 10-time All-Star helped propel the Los Angeles Dodgers past the New York Yankees in the 1981 World Series and was named National League Most Valuable Player in 1974 and 1978.
After signing as a free agent with the San Diego Padres prior to the 1983 season, Garvey led the Friars to the NL pennant the next year, hitting a walk-off home run in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs to square the best-of-five series at two games each.
Paternity scandal
Garvey cultivated a clean-cut, All-American image during his playing career — an image that was tarnished by a sordid scandal following his playing days.
After divorcing his first wife, Cynthia, in 1983, Garvey became involved with several women at once. Two of them, Rebecka Mendenhall and Cheryl Ann Moulton, became pregnant by him. As described in a November 1989 Sports Illustrated story, Garvey became engaged to Mendenhall and broke it off within a span of about six weeks between November 1988 and January 1989.
The following month, Garvey married his current wife, Candace, who he had met one month earlier — while still engaged to Mendenhall — at a ski event.
“Essentially, I dated three women in the last five years, and two of them have said that they are carrying my children,” Garvey told The Oklahoman newspaper in May 1989.
“It was a whirlwind romance, and it’s probably one of the problems,” he added, “because if I hadn’t gotten married, the other women wouldn’t be mad.”
The Sports Illustrated article, written by Rick Reilly, neatly laid out the laughingstock Garvey — whose “Mr. Clean” nickname had been changed to “The Father of Our Country” — had become.
“Bumper sticker: HONK IF YOU’RE CARRYING STEVE GARVEY’S BABY,” Reilly wrote. “Bob Hope: ‘I haven’t seen so many gorgeous girls since I spent Father’s Day with Steve Garvey.’ Letter in the L.A. Times: ‘It’s been a long time since Steve Garvey went two for two.’ T-shirt: STEVE GARVEY IS NOT MY PADRE.”
Ironically, Reilly also wrote that the scandal “probably has ruined [Garvey’s] prospects for the political career he was hoping to have.”
Garvey now has seven children from four separate relationships.
Can Steve Garvey win?
Never say never. But he is the clear underdog.
A recent Los Angeles Times/UC Berkeley poll pegged Schiff with 53% and Garvey with 38% in a head-to-head matchup.
California is one of the deepest blue states in the country and has not elected a Republican to the Senate since Pete Wilson in 1988.
“They say in the general election that we’re going to strike out, but you know what that’s from,” Garvey said Tuesday. “That’s from the crowd that believes in the status quo.”
Steve Garvey’s upbringing
Garvey was born in Florida and attended Chamberlain High School in Tampa, graduating in 1966. He then went to Michigan State University, where he played both baseball and football.
He was initially drafted by the Minnesota Twins as a 17-year-old high school player, but opted to go to MSU.
In 1968, the Dodgers drafted Garvey out of college.
Does Steve Garvey support Donald Trump?
Despite Schiff’s attempts to cast Garvey as a lackey for former President Donald Trump, the baseball great had skirted questions about whether he intends to back him in 2024.
“When the time comes, I’ll do exactly what I should do: I’ll look at the two opponents, I will determine what they did and at that time, I will make my choice,” Garvey said, according to the Orange County Register.
Still, Garvey confirmed he voted for Trump twice and has carefully evaded questions about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Garvey bills himself as a “conservative moderate” and a consensus candidate, keen on cutting bipartisan deals in the Senate.
He’s also shown a weariness about being pigeonholed politically, including as a disciple of the “Make America Great Again” movement.
Light presence on the campaign trail
Since launching his campaign last October, Garvey has left light public footprint on the campaign trail and refrained from holding many blockbuster outings.
Last December, he trekked down to the US-Mexico border and in January, he toured homeless encampments. But to many observers, his itinerary seemed lighter than other heavy hitters in the race.
That could change now that Garvey has advanced to the general election.
Steve Garvey’s political positions
Garvey has been outspoken about issues that have plagued the Golden State such as rampant homelessness, crime, water shortages, and immigration.
Amid the friction among Republicans over the war in Ukraine, Garvey has clarified that he stands with Kyiv and supports efforts to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of victory.
One key issue that he’s carefully navigated — perhaps not surprisingly, given his past — is abortion. During the January debate, Garvey was pressed about his position on the political albatross, and said he will “always support the voice of the people of California.”
Implications of Steve Garvey’s victory
Now that Schiff and Garvey are the winners, California will soon be without a female senator for the first time in over 30 years.
Given Schiff’s considerable advantage over Garvey, Democrats will now be able to spread donor cash out elsewhere as the party stares down a brutal map for their chances of keeping Senate control.
