Democratic Representative Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey have secured spots in the general election for California’s open Senate seat, as projected by CNN.

This outcome sets the stage for a challenging contest for the beleaguered GOP in the state.

Schiff and Garvey competed in two Senate contests on Tuesday: one to fill the remainder of the late Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein’s term, from November to January, and another for a full six-year term starting January 2025.

Incumbent Senator Laphonza Butler, a Democrat appointed to the seat last fall following Feinstein’s passing, decided not to pursue a full term.

In California’s open primary system, all candidates run on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.

Given the Democratic majority in the state, the Senate seat is heavily favored to remain in Democratic hands in November, CNN reported.

Garvey managed to beat two Democratic congresswomen, Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, to secure a spot on the general election ballot, despite raising significantly less money and not airing any TV ads.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Schiff and his supporters spent millions on ads portraying Garvey as “too conservative” for California, a strategic move aimed at boosting Republican turnout.

Garvey, who raised only $2.1 million through February 14 compared to Schiff’s $31 million, did not allocate funds for TV ads.

Some progressives criticized Schiff’s strategy, arguing that it could inadvertently increase GOP turnout in down-ballot races by encouraging more Republicans to vote.

Porter labeled the ad strategy as “brazenly cynical” and accused Schiff of misrepresenting Garvey’s conservatism, noting that the former baseball player voted for Donald Trump twice but has not ruled out voting for President Joe Biden in 2024.

Written by B.C. Begley