California's sleepy race to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein finally came to life Monday night at USC. Three Democratic members of Congress and a Dodger-turned-Republican candidate clashed over the war in Gaza, touted a plan to tackle homelessness and protect reproductive freedom.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland are Republican political newcomers and former baseball star Steve Garvey, a supporter of former President Trump. Although he took pleasure in invading Mr. Garvey, he sometimes seemed confused and sometimes unprepared. Democratic pile-on.

“Once a Dodger, always a Dodger,” Porter said, attacking Garvey, who refused to say whether he would vote for Trump this fall.

Monday's debate, hosted by Fox 11 News and Politico, was the first of three debates scheduled before the March 5 primary, in which California voters faced 11 The month will decide which two candidates will face off to determine the winner of the most coveted and most likely political race. Post within the state.

Leading up to the debate, the three Democratic senators traveled across California, staying focused on their vision for the state and not getting bogged down in the mud. Monday was different. Mr. Porter focuses on Mr. Lee and Mr. Schiff's long political careers, noting that they achieved little during their tenure, particularly in passing health care reform and addressing California's affordable housing shortage. He claimed that there was no.

Latest polls from University of California, Berkeley Institute of Government, Mr. Schiff leads among likely voters, with 21% support, compared to 17% for Mr. Porter and 13% for Mr. Garvey, according to a co-sponsor with the Times. was. Lee is in fourth place with an approval rating of 9%.

Monday's showdown, which was televised and broadcast across the state on radio, had about 21% of voters saying they were undecided, and could help sway who could decide the fate of the race. There is.

For many, this debate will be their first real glimpse of the candidates running for the job.

Here are five takeaways from the first Senate debate in California.

Israel exposed its deepest rifts

The war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza has sparked the most acrimonious jousting between the Democratic Party representatives on the issue, including Porter, Lee, and Schiff. Although the three men have little disagreement, Mr. Lee's call for a ceasefire the day after the Israeli attack was in stark contrast to Mr. Schiff's unflinching support for Israel. Schiff, who is Jewish, said he supported President Biden's policy of pressuring Israel to minimize civilian casualties, but he did not say that Israel should halt operations in Gaza. .

Schiff also said he was saddened by the loss of Palestinian life and supported the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“I support a two-state solution…but Israel must protect itself,” Schiff said. “We cannot leave Hamas, which rules Gaza. It still holds over 100 hostages, including Americans. How can any country ask for a ceasefire when its own people are being held by a terrorist organization?” I don’t know if I can do it.”

These attacks killed at least 20,000 people in the Gaza Strip, and Israel's response to the October 7 attacks, which left at least 1,200 people dead and traumatized in Israel, has been criticized as tantamount to genocide. . Porter reiterated on Monday that Israel should work “toward a durable bilateral ceasefire in Gaza.”

“This is a catastrophic situation that will kill 25,000 civilians and will never lead to peace for either Israelis or Palestinians,” Lee said.

Unlike Mr. Schiff and Mr. Lee, who took firm positions in favor of or against support for the Israeli military, Mr. Porter was risk-averse. She said she supported a ceasefire and wanted to ensure the release of all hostages, funds for rebuilding Gaza, security for Israel and “prosperity” for the Palestinian state.

“Ceasefire is not a magic word,” Porter said. “You can't just say it out loud and make it happen.”

The debate reflected voter anger and polarization on the topic. A recent Times poll found that Schiff supporters were far more likely to support Biden's handling of the war than supporters of Garvey or Lee. Mr. Porter's supporters were evenly divided on how they felt about Mr. Biden's diplomatic response. Garvey said he supports Israel.

Controversy spilled outside the hall, with dozens of protesters chanting “ceasefire now” and denouncing US support for Israel in its invasion of Gaza.

Garvey struggled to define how he would govern

The former Dodgers first baseman, who finished his All-Star career with the San Diego Padres, seemed at ease on stage, even as he struggled to articulate his reign. Garvey tried to promote himself as an open-minded political outsider, uninfluenced by Washington.

“California was a vibrant country that led the country,” Garvey said of his early years in California. “And all of a sudden, one political party started taking over. There was only one voice in California. And this vibrant state turned into a buzz. As a conservative moderate, I thought it was time to stand up. .”

Garvey joked about how his appearance “incited” a series of baseball references when Democrats on stage criticized former professional players, but Garvey himself called the remarks sports-related. The U.S. Senate was involved in a “team sport” and counted the numbers. His leadership in the championship was given as qualification for one of the highest political positions in the country.

Mr. Garvey has been steadily climbing in the polls, despite delaying his candidacy and refraining from high-profile campaign activities. But his support for Trump, who continues to be despised by an overwhelming majority of California voters, and his silence on some of the most divisive political issues of the time, including Israel and those he opposed in the election. His presence could threaten the survival of his appeal. His own official.

At one point, Porter asked Garvey whether he believed in a two-state solution for Israel. Garvey responded, “It would be naive to think that our generation can achieve a two-state solution.''

Schiff is in the lead, everyone else is fighting for second place.

Under California's “jungle primary” system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the March primary, regardless of party, advance to the November election. This is good news for Schiff. He has a $35 million war chest and a solid lead in the polls.

A recent poll from the University of California, Berkeley, co-sponsored by the Times, found that Mr. Schiff enjoys support among likely voters. rose It will rise from 14% in May 2023 to 21% in January 2024.

Mr. Schiff came into the debate looking to stay ahead of the competition and avoid attacks from the candidates competing for second place. The situation changed on Monday. Mr. Porter and Mr. Garvey were in a tight race for second place, with both chasing the longtime Burbank state representative.

The former baseball player called Schiff's work on the Intelligence Committee investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia a “liar” and claimed the former president colluded with foreign states during the 2016 campaign.

“Sir, you lied to 300 million people. You can't take that back,” Garvey said. He said Schiff was accused by House Republicans of lying.

Mr. Schiff used the attack to reiterate his allegations against Mr. Trump.

“I was accused of standing up to a corrupt president,” Schiff responded. “So, you know what? We're going to do it all over again. Because that corrupt president, that president that's been indicted on 91 felonies, that president that you won't refuse to support? Yeah, he's dangerous.”

Mr. Porter also accused Mr. Schiff of accepting political contributions from fossil fuel companies, saying it undermined Mr. Schiff's past work pursuing polluters as a federal prosecutor.

“First of all, I gave you that money, Katie Porter,” said Schiff, who supported Porter's bid for Congress. “And the only response I got was, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.' But at the end of the day, what matters is what you accomplished. From Congresswoman Porter on what she actually accomplished. I haven't heard anything.”

Republican candidates take no stance against Trump

In a rare moment of unity, all three Democrats demanded that Garvey explain why he voted for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and whether he would vote for him.

“In both cases, he was the perfect person for the job,” Garvey said.

Garvey criticized Hillary Clinton, saying she was “entitled” and said Biden “stayed in his basement and only came out in a controlled environment” during the 2020 campaign. He defended Trump's record on national security and the economy, but declined to say whether he would vote for him again in 2024.

Schiff told Garvey that on January 6, 2021, Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol to prevent a peaceful transition of power after former President Trump falsely claimed the election was stolen. I asked him what he thought about the attack.

“Do we need to see any more of what he's done to say we don't support him, we won't vote to put him back in office? What more do we need?” Schiff said. Ta.

Garvey was furious that Schiff was “trying to corner me and mislead me by calling me MAGA…I'm my man.” I make my own decisions. ”

But Mr. Porter and Mr. Lee did not allow Mr. Garvey's questions about loyalty to Mr. Trump to be ignored.

“He … refused to answer any questions. Ballots will be mailed out in six weeks, Mr. Garvey. This is not the minor leagues,” Porter said. “Who do you vote for?”

Lee added, “You can't be confused about this. You have to say whether you support the MAGA extremist Republican Party's policies led by Donald Trump to dismantle our democracy. You have to say it. Do you support it or not?

Conflict over abortion rights

The fight for the top two spots could force the three Democrats, who are all colleagues in Congress and have largely similar policy views, to abandon their long-standing approach of ignoring each other. Ta. Attacking the front-runner could be rewarding for candidates seeking a better position in the race, but it risks alienating voters who don't like to see internal conflict among Democrats.

Mr. Porter blasted Mr. Schiff, who cited abortion rights as an accomplishment on his campaign website in the post-Roe v. Wade era, when millions of Americans lost access to abortion services.

“As a mother of a young daughter, I don't believe that abortion rights have been achieved,” Porter said.

Schiff said he is a vocal supporter of reproductive freedom and that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade overturns half a century of precedent on the constitutional right to abortion. “It is putting the health and safety of people at risk.” Millions of women. ” He said he supports legislation that would legalize abortion nationwide and expand the Supreme Court.

“The fact that we begin to lose our rights as Americans is a sure sign that our democracy is in trouble,” Schiff said.

Lee said she became pregnant as a teenager and decided with her mother that the best option was to have an illegal abortion in Mexico. She said the dark clinic in a back alley was scary. Her experience there was terrifying, she said.

She said she would work to eliminate the filibuster and repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion services.

Garvey said he would not vote for a federal abortion ban and, if elected, would “support the voices of Californians” who voted to codify abortion rights into the state constitution in 2022.