Porter accuses Schiff of ‘brazenly cynical’ ad ‘boosting’ Republican Garvey

Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) took aim at fellow Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for what she called a “brazenly cynical ad” Thursday.

“Adam Schiff knows he will lose to me in November,” Porter said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “That’s what this brazenly cynical ad is about—furthering his own political career, boxing out qualified Democratic women candidates, and boosting a Republican candidate to do it. We need honest leadership, not political games.”

The Golden State has a nonpartisan primary March 5 in which the two candidates with the most votes on the ballot move on to the general election. Schiff has led in polls over the past few months. 

The Schiff advertisement slams Republican candidate and former baseball player Steve Garvey, pitting Garvey and Schiff against each other as the “two leading candidates for Senate.”

“Steve Garvey, the leading Republican, is too conservative for California,” the voiceover in the the ad says. “He voted for Trump, twice, and supported Republicans for years, including far-right conservatives. Adam Schiff, the leading Democrat, defended democracy against Trump and the insurrectionists. He helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs and bring good jobs back home. The choice is clear.”

A recent survey of likely California voters found Schiff leading Porter and Garvey by 10 points, 25 percent to their 15 percent. Porter and Garvey are followed by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) at 7 percent. 

The Los Angeles Times endorsed Schiff in the heated primary a few weeks ago. While the Times said Lee, Porter and Schiff are all “smart, experienced, savvy members of the House who could represent California well in the Senate,” they ultimately backed Schiff.

“Schiff, however, stands out for his extraordinary leadership over the last several years in helping to protect the nation’s institutions, the rule of law and American democracy itself from former President Trump,” the Times’s editorial board wrote.