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In California Senate race, what’s the difference among 3 House Democrats?

June 25, 2023

Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter are Democratic representatives in Congress. They have similar voting records, boast their progressive bona fides and are running for California’s U.S. Senate seat.

When it comes to their voting records, Porter and Schiff agree 98% of the time so far this Congress while Schiff and Lee and Porter and Lee agree 96%, according to a ProPublica analysis of their voting records. In the 2021-22 Congress, Porter and Schiff agreed 99% while the other pairings lined up at 98%.

Certainly, even more similarities abound, including biographical — two are lawyers, two represent Southern California in the U.S. House, two are over the age of 60 and none is originally from California.

But there are stark differences, too, and with less than a year to go until the primary, how all three candidates are pitching themselves to voters, and highlighting those contrasts, is starting to emerge.

“There’s not a great deal of difference between the candidates on the issues,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political messaging at USC and UC Berkeley. “As a result, they’re going to end up spending a lot of time trying to establish themselves as a particular type of progressive leader: Barbara Lee is the social justice warrior, Katie Porter is the economic populist and Adam Schiff is the defender of democracy.”

“For many Democratic voters, the differences between them are going to have more to do with emphasis and identity than anything else,” Schnur said.

Lee, 76, has been in Congress since 1998 when she won a special election to replace a retiring member.

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She was the only member of Congress to vote against invading Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. The Oakland Democrat has railed against what she considers “wasteful military spending and investing in war rather than peace” and has voted against the federal defense budgets.

In contrast, Porter, 49, has only been in Congress since 2019; she was part of the wave that flipped Orange County from red to blue.

Originally from Iowa, Porter has made economic issues her bread and butter and is an acolyte of progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was once her professor at Harvard Law School. She’s behind several viral moments, from reading a book with an expletive in the title during the House speaker vote earlier this year to hoisting her now iconic whiteboard in congressional hearings and late-night talk shows alike.

And then there’s Schiff, 63, who is perhaps most known for taking on then-President Donald Trump as the House Intelligence Committee chair — an investigation that was the catalyst for his recent censure in Congress.

Schiff, as Schnur pointed out, is the first of the three “to make a serious effort at broadening their political identity.”

The Burbank Democrat’s campaign has rolled out a consistent slate of endorsements from labor groups over the past few weeks, most recently announcing the backing of the California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers. This is the fourth statewide labor union to back Schiff, his campaign told the Southern California News Group, which follows the Amalgamated Transit Union, the IBEW and California IATSE Council.

“I feel really proud to be emerging as the candidate of labor in this race,” Schiff said in an interview. “These are the folks that build things, that get things done, and that’s the focus of our campaign — to get things done for California and to move California forward.”

“I think the paramount challenge facing Californians is that the economy is not working for millions of them,” he added. “I say that not because people aren’t working but because people are working, but they’re not making enough to get by. … The number of households represented by labor has fallen over the decades.”

Schiff introducing himself to voters as the pro-labor candidate in the race, Schnur said, signals that he already has an advantage in the “democracy argument” so he’s looking at other bases of support.

“Even if democracy is his main calling card,” Schnur said, “he can’t just run for the Senate for the next year and a half (by) running only as the anti-Trump candidate.”

As for Porter and Lee, both say they will underscore their records as they meet with voters throughout the race.

“I have been championing progressive values and passing progressive legislation my whole career. Californians want someone who can get things done in the Senate on Day One,” said Lee. “I am an effective legislator, appropriator and negotiator and that’s how you get things done.”

And Porter said: “I am the only candidate in this race who’s always rejected corporate PAC money, and I’m the only candidate to refuse lobbyist money. That gives me legitimacy to lead on issues like banning Congressmembers from trading stocks. Voters can be 100% confident that I work for them — not my own pocketbook and not special interests.”

But Lee is also leaning on her own lived experience as a Black woman in California.

“I can speak to the challenges facing so many Californians because I’ve lived them, too,” she said. “I escaped a violent marriage. I was a single mom on public assistance. I had an abortion as a teenager when it was illegal and dangerous for women to do so.”

Noting there have only been a couple Black women to serve in the U.S. Senate — and none currently — she added: “It is important that the Senate have all perspectives on critical issues, like voting rights, income and racial inequality, health care, childcare, poverty and homelessness. I have always fought to dismantle barriers for marginalized communities which have not had a seat at the table.”

And Porter highlights her ability to question or counter those in leadership positions.

“My questioning of the CDC director got every American free COVID tests. After I called out ‘Big Pharma’ CEOs for price gouging patients, I was able to secure a new law that recovers taxpayer dollars from drug companies that engage in outrageous price hikes, saving some Americans as much as $449 per dose on medications they need,” she said.

Of course, all that could change if the status quo is interrupted.

Former Google and American Express executive Lexi Reese is considering jumping into the race as a Democratic contender with a focus on her “outsider” status and the economy. Her website teases a June 29 announcement.

And then there’s Steve Garvey, a former Dodgers star, who is meeting with GOP officials and weighing a 2024 bid. With his name recognition, Garvey could throw a wrench into the primary for Democrats — leaving just one spot in the runoff, as opposed to two.

One final stark difference between the candidate is their choice of campaign trail provisions.

Lee is up for a couple of tacos on the road, Porter prefers Diet Dr. Pepper but in the mini cans and Schiff picks vegan options from Amy’s Drive Thru.

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