Republican Garvey will target independents, soft Democrats, in bid against Schiff for Senate seat

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey calls himself a “conservative moderate” who shouldn't be buttonholed into conventional political labels, a self-styled description that provides a window into how he hopes to win over independents and soft Democratic voters in his longshot Senate campaign against Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff.

A Republican hasn't won a Senate race in California since 1988, and GOP candidates running conventional statewide campaigns have a long record of Election Day misery in the heavily Democratic state.

Garvey's campaign has already benefitted from his splash of celebrity appeal — he's a former MVP and perennial All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. In a presidential election year, the campaign plans to emphasize that he is not a rigid devotee of former President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement, even though Garvey has voted for Trump twice and hasn't ruled out doing so again.

At the same time, the campaign will look to target persuadable, middle-ground voters grown weary of the state's left-leaning politics and homeless crisis, as well as rising gas prices, crime rates and housing costs. On Tuesday night, Garvey urged those disillusioned by the state's challenges to “come join us.”