Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey discuss top issues facing California during U.S. Senate Candidate Forum
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Early voting is underway across California, and one important decision for voters is the open Senate seat.
ABC7 hosted the U.S. Senate Candidate Forum Tuesday in which Eyewitness News anchor Marc Brown moderated a discussion between Democratic candidate Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican candidate Steve Garvey.
Both candidates are vying for the California U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Dianne Feinstein, who passed away in September 2023.
Schiff is a longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and was first elected to the House in 2000. Garvey, a 10-time MLB All-Star, is a former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres first baseman. More recently, he worked as a businessman and motivational speaker.
The two candidates answered questions on important issues facing our state and our country, including gun control, immigration, climate change and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A panel of journalists joined Brown from across the state, including KGO-TV anchor Kristen Sze, KFSN-TV anchor Warren Armstrong and Univision Los Angeles anchor Gabriela Teissier. In case you missed it, here are the highlights.
Who are they voting for? Trump or Harris?
When asked about which candidate they were each supporting, Schiff - who led the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump in 2020 - said he was supporting Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, and then turned his ire on Trump.
"Donald Trump, I think, was a disastrous president. I think he has threatened our democracy ... Americans want someone who is good and decent and ethical and knows right from wrong, who's capable of telling the truth as the President of the United States. And the choice, to me is very clear, and it's Kamala Harris," Schiff said.
Garvey - who has tried not to tie himself closely to Trump - responded to the question by saying, "You've been trying to paint me for a year now, into one corner or the other, and I've said, I'm running a Steve Garvey campaign. I make my decisions based on what I think is best for the people."
While running as a Republican, Garvey did not attend the Republican National Convention in July. Trump has not endorsed Garvey.
Garvey praised Trump, who he said he voted for three times and the former president's record, but added that Schiff is focused on Trump to the detriment of Californian voters: "I can't imagine how you could get up every morning and have one mission, and that's to go after Donald Trump. You were made a proxy by the higher ups in your party ... how can you think about one man every day and focus on that when you've got millions of people in California to take care of?"
"Mr. Garvey likes that particular attack because that's what Trump likes to say. It's his way of telling MAGA [Make America Great Again] viewers out there, 'Hey, I'm one of you. That's not what Californians are looking for, Mr. Garvey," Schiff responded, while defending his work as the impeachment manager.
Schiff then brought up being present during the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, adding, "The fact that you think that's perfectly okay, that you still want to support the guy who incited that violent attack -- that tells me that you would never take your oath of office as seriously as serious as I do."
Gun control
In 1994, Feinstein famously authored a ban on assault weapons, which has long since expired. Since then, ownership of weapons like AR-15s has exploded, with millions estimated to be in U.S. homes.
When asked about the actions that would be taken on gun control, Garvey said he supports the Second Amendment and believes a key component is "a more stringent background check."
"I do have sympathy for all of those who may have been victims of shootings, but I think the most important thing is a stringent background check," he said. "It goes much deeper than this today in order to preserve the integrity of the Second Amendment and to be able to provide for the people to defend themselves."
Schiff said he would support an assault weapons ban.
"I would support extended and universal background checks. I would support a ban on extended ammunition clips and my own bill, which would strip away the [The National Rifle Association's] immunity from liability."
WATCH: Schiff, Garvey discuss gun legislation
Climate change
The extreme weather conditions in California were also a topic, specifically the increasing threat of wildfires.
"First and foremost, we have to address climate change," said Schiff when asked about specific policies to make our state more resilient to climate change and devastating fires.
"We have to aggressively incentivize renewal energy, move us away from fossil fuels, which are causing the planet to heat up and setting the states like California on fire ... we also need to use technology to fight fires."
"I think what is important is, in a federal position like the U.S. Senate, that we start to work to clear out the brush, that really is the igniting point for many of these fires around the state of California," said Garvey. "I was just up in Northern California ... and saw the devastation, what can happen and could happen. All these things [Schiff] mentions have been done time and time again, but he never has an answer."
Abortion and reproductive health
When asked to explain his position on reproductive rights and abortion, Garvey said he "pledges to support the voice of Californians" if elected.
"I said this on day one almost a year ago, October 10, that as the next elected U.S. Senator from California, I pledge to support the voice of Californians, and they have a bill, a constitutional bill for abortion, and I pledge to support that," he said. "Now, I am a Catholic. I believe in life. I believe in life at conception. I believe God breathes the soul into these fetuses. So I steadfast in terms of my policies on abortion and also the pledge to support all the people of California."
Schiff started his response saying, "Reproductive freedom is a human right."
"It shouldn't be denied to Californians, it shouldn't be denied to women anywhere in the country. I'm going to fight, as I have in the past, for a national Right to Abortion law so that women make reproductive decisions."
WATCH: Adam Schiff, Steve Garvey discuss where they stand on abortion
Israel-Hamas conflict
It's been one year since the October Hamas attack on Israel. Since then, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, Lebanon is now under attack and Iran is firing missiles at Israel.
What do Garvey and Schiff believe would bring peace to a region that's been unsettled for nearly 100 years?
"The United States needs to continue to support its ally Israel in its right to defend itself," said Schiff. "No nation state could go through that kind of attack and not defend itself. What's more, we cannot have a situation where [Hamas] continues to control Gaza or threaten the lives of Israelis, Americans and others. So we need to support Israel. At the same time, we need to make sure that we're doing all we can to ultimately bring about a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live in security and peace."
Garvey responded, saying, "I've said from the beginning that I support Israel yesterday, today and tomorrow. I will stand by them for all their needs, at any time, but I could never tell them they can't protect their sovereignty."
"We need to get the hostages back," he continued. "But let's face it, in two administrations, with the Obama and the Biden administration, [Schiff] voted for significant packages of billions of dollars to Iran. Why to pander to Iran?"
WATCH: Steve Garvey and Adam Schiff discuss conflicts in the Middle East
California cost of living
Many Californians are struggling with the state's high cost of living.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, San Francisco's housing cost is a staggering 86.5% above the national average - food is 17% higher and transportation 11% higher.
When policies would Garvey and Schiff support to alleviate the cost-of-living burden on working and middle-class families?
"Let's get back to a free market capitalization ... supply side," said Garvey. "Let's start to get money flowing in this great state and country of ours. What suppressed the people right from the beginning, day one of the Biden administration, was to shut off energy. When you shut off energy, the ripple effect it has in this country went to the living room table, to the gas station, the ability to save, the ability to provide for their children ... all these things need to be attacked and attacked in an expeditious, proper manner."
Schiff said it all starts with building a lot more housing and building it fast.
"I'm supporting a low-income housing tax credit that would incentivize the development of hundreds of thousands of new units in California," he said. "We also have to get local communities to approve housing much more quickly. It could take four years to build housing in many of our cities.
" ... and for those who are homeless and struggling with mental health or substance abuse problems, we need to get the treatment and wraparound services so they remain housed."
WATCH: Steve Garvey and Adam Schiff discuss their plans on health insurance
Immigration
Up until June, the San Diego sector was the area with the most undocumented migrants crossing into the U.S.
Schiff believes the U.S. can have a strong immigration policy that will also treat people like human beings.
"We need better technologies along the border to interdict both people and narcotics when narcotics are being smuggled across the border," he said. "But we also need a comprehensive immigration policy that treats those that are trying to immigrate or migrate as human beings that's consistent with our values. We need a solution that provides relief for our Dreamers and for the farm workers who put food on our table. It ought to be comprehensive if it is going to be effective."
Garvey said he supports securing the border and "finishing off the wall."
"We have to reinforce our border patrol," he said. "We have to get back to building facilities at the border that will detain these illegal immigrants and a judicial system that will try them. But let's face it, the times that I've been at the border, when I've gone up and down, it's an existential crisis in this country that's been created by Joe Biden with this man right here."
WATCH LIVE: Adam Schiff, Steve Garvey discuss immigration and border security
The future of AI
There is both excitement and trepidation over the development of artificial intelligence. One fear is that AI may spread bias and misinformation and another is its potential impact on the labor market.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers has identified about 10% of the workforce as "AI-vulnerable." How would the candidates address those concerns in the Senate without hurting innovation in California, especially in Silicon Valley?
"My principal concern about AI is ... what is the effect on the American worker?" said Schiff. "What we've seen over the last 50 years, sadly, is life has gotten harder for working families. It's not that they're not working. Unemployment is very low, but because of globalism, because of automation, people are working harder than ever and still struggling to get by. AI threatens to accelerate that. Now, I want to keep this technology and these jobs in California because it's a force-multiplier for our economy, but I want to make sure that it's well regulated so we protect workers and we protect the workplace."
Garvey believes in the future, there will some sort of balance between AI, labor and commerce.
"I think it is the future. I think that in many ways, and being on boards of institutions and medical institutions, that it is going to have tremendous effect, a positive effect. My only concern is how it's going to affect individuals. Can it be my mind-altering? Can it affect their personal lives? I think, in the future, there will be a balance between AI and labor and commerce, and it gets back to, and as Mr. Schiff mentioned, about the economy, and about getting the economy back. Well, I like to call that "Schiff-flation" when he talks about the economy, and trying to get that to coincide and come in line with new innovations like AI."
Housing affordability
When it comes to the housing crisis in California, critics often cite building regulations and zoning laws as barriers to increasing inventory. Others oppose rent control and more government intervention.
So should California let the housing market balance itself, or do we really need more regulation?
"I think this gets back to more of a local issue," said Garvey. "Releasing land leases on a local basis, working with builders, giving them incentives to housing. Mr. Schiff and his website talks about affordable housing is just build more housing, but it's much more than that. But if we do start to mention a federal issue, I think this is where government becomes over involved, and a situation can be worked out on that local level."
Schiff responded saying California simply needs to build more housing.
"My opponent may say, 'Well, the government doesn't have much of a role in that, but we do. We can incentivize the development of housing. We can help break this logjam, and we're going to have to the problem will not solve itself."
Tuesday's forum was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of California.
You can watch the full U.S. Senate Candidate Forum on ABC7 on your favorite streaming devices, like Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and GoogleTV. Just search "ABC7 Los Angeles."
ABC News contributed to this report.
