Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is hated by conservatives, but is running a daring and effective ad campaign in which he is targeting conservatives to encourage them to support Republican Steve Garvey in the primary above Democratic rivals.
Californians go to the polls on March 5, as part of Super Tuesday. Many have already submitted their ballots by mail.
Under California’s “jungle” primary, the top two finishers — of any party — in the primary automatically advance to the general election. Schiff could have a hard time against Democrats, especially female Democrats, in November.
However, he would have a massive advantage over any Republican, given the huge registration advantage Democrats enjoy in the Golden State, and the fact that no Republican has won a statewide race in California in more than a decade.
So Schiff has run ads setting up the race as a contest between himself and Garvey, ignoring Reps. Katie Porter (D) and Barbara Lee (D). That has the effect of rallying Democrats to his side — and rallying conservatives to Garvey’s cause.
In fact, Schiff’s ads targeting Garvey mention facts that are likely to appeal to conservatives, including the fact that he voted for Donald Trump twice.
That message is a negative for Democrats — but a strong positive for Republicans.
One of Schiff’s ads on Facebook even includes a link to an article, purportedly from Breitbart News, but actually from Fox News Radio, praising Garvey: “How A Retired Baseball Star Could Be The Key To A GOP-Led Senate.”
Such ads are boosting Garvey’s poll numbers, making it more likely Garvey advances against Schiff — and that Schiff wins in the November election.
“If he and Porter make the runoff, they are neck-and-neck,” said FlashReport editor Jon Fleischman, a seasoned expert on California politics.
However, Fleischman says, there is reason for Republicans to like the fact that Garvey is doing well in the polls, even if it helps Schiff. Garvey’s presence on the ticket could help embattled California Republicans in several congressional races by increasing Republican turnout, which could help Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.