Ex-MLB star Steve Garvey loses U.S. Senate race in California

LOS ANGELES -- Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey was defeated by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff on Tuesday in the race for the California U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Garvey had tried to parlay his sports celebrity into a political upset of the Los Angeles-area congressman, who rose to national prominence as the lead prosecutor in then-President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial.

In a year when control of the Senate is in play, Democrats were favored to easily hold the seat in the liberal-leaning state where a Republican candidate hasn't won a Senate race since 1988, when President Ronald Reagan was in the White House. Schiff held an edge for months in campaign financing and polling over Garvey.

Garvey, a former MVP and perennial All-Star who played for theLos Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, called himself a "conservative moderate" who shouldn't be buttonholed into conventional political labels, an obvious pitch to independent and soft Democratic voters in a state where registered Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats nearly 2-to-1.

Schiff shaped his campaign around national issues including abortion rights while continuing to play a foil to Trump, calling the former president a threat to democracy. He also contrasted his years of experience in Congress -- Schiff was first elected to the House in 2000 -- against Garvey, a first-time candidate who positioned himself as an outsider with fresh a perspective to deal with California's long-running homelessness crisis, inflation and housing costs.

Garvey, in a concession speech, said his campaign succeeded in bringing attention to problems from rising crime to runaway spending on homelessness that has seen scant results.

"We took a stand on what impacted California," Garvey said.

Speaking to supporters, Schiff promised to work in the Senate for safe neighborhoods and better schools and to reduce the menace of climate change. California is facing struggles, he said, but "together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.