‘Heartbeat of America’: Dodgers legend Steve Garvey to run for Feinstein’s Senate seat

MLB legend Steve Garvey looked around California’s political scene for someone he could “support” and “couldn’t find anybody” — so he decided he’d run for the Senate seat left vacant by the late Democrat, Diane Feinstein.

“Earlier this year, I wondered, ‘Let’s see who I can get behind in California that I can support, that had my values and my commitment to this country,’ and I couldn’t find anybody,” Garvey told Fox News Digital, adding, “You know how strongly liberal [California has become] over the years and generations.”

In 1981, Garvey helped the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series. Now, the iconic player hopes to bring stability to a “dysfunctional Washington.”

“I woke up one morning and decided to see if there’s a pathway to run for the U.S. Senate,”  he said.

Since announcing his candidacy in October, the Republican says he’s been talking to Californians up and down the state.

“We’ve been active, over the first probably four months after making that decision, talking to significant people that I trust in the world of politics and then going around California, talking to the people in the north, coastal and central California, and also down south where we are,” he said.

As BizPac Review reported earlier this month, Garvey “received 19% support in a Morning Consult/Politico survey among likely primary voters, placing in second behind only Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff with 28%. The Republican polled ahead of both Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, who garnered 17% and 14% support, respectively.”

The one-time National League MVP was a Dodger for 14 years and a member of the San Diego Padres for five years, with a career that spanned from 1969 to 1987.

He intends on taking his sports skills to Capitol Hill.

“My whole life has been based on, you know, team building and putting teams together with comparable skills, leadership, dedication, passion,” he explained.

He’s put together winning teams “in Los Angeles and San Diego and in the community,” the 74-year-old said, and he can do it in Washington D.C.

“It doesn’t stop just with sports teams. It goes all the way into business and politics, in religion and all those things,” Garvey said. “So, that’s the most important thing I’m focusing on in terms of interaction with other politicians.”

If elected, Garvey plans to spend his first day in office meeting with each senator to “build a relationship and start to build a consensus that’s good for all the people, not only of California, but this country.”

California used to be the “heartbeat of America,” Garvey told Fox News Digital, but, with residents facing financial and safety challenges, it is now a mere “murmur.”

“The challenges of hardworking Californians getting up every day and knowing that, under our economy now and inflation, that by the time the month’s over, they could be losing seven, eight, $900. And that’s when they’re even managing their daily lives well,” he said. “The food and the gas and education for their children, clothing … all of these things are due to inflation that’s risen so much that it’s tough to stay above water.”

“What I’ll focus on is getting back to a free market, capitalism, that will target small businesses,” he vowed. “You know, there’s so many people that want to start businesses and small market businesses. Small businesses are the foundation of the business world, especially here in California. So many of those people who wanted to start small businesses have left California.”

Unlike many of the progressive politicians in California, Garvey backs the “hardworking police and sheriffs” who are “committed to serving the people and providing peace.”

“They’re putting their lives on the line, taking these criminals to the jails and getting them registered and doing the paperwork and looking out the window and seeing them walk through the parking lot because the DAs have let them go,” he said. “And it’s not just the streets of downtown and in other areas closer to town. It’s neighborhoods where people have to really question whether they can go out and walk at night or maybe sometimes in the daytime.”

The Golden State’s homeless crisis is also high on Garvey’s priority list.

“A lot of these homeless people are veterans,” he said. “One of my focuses is gonna be getting back to taking care of these veterans, men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country, and not dismiss them once they’re out of service or trying to get back into society.”

A father and grandfather, Garvey says education should steer clear of “social issues.”

“Parents [are] feeling that they’re not able to provide safety and a pathway for their children to be educated adults so that they can go out in the world and be productive,” he said. “I think we need to get back to education that gets to core issues – core issues of preparing our children and getting away from social issues that have the tendency to confuse our children.”

As for his competition, Garvey says, “I’m not concerned with my opposition.”

“It sounds funny, but I’m concerned with messaging to the people of California,” he said. “The Californians, we have found out, have felt that they’ve been in a malaise. It’s easy in this state because of the beauty of it. … Because of the economy and because of the homelessness on the streets and the challenge in our schools and our churches, they have been looking for somebody that they can believe in, that they know. And they know me pretty well.”

“I’m running for all the people, and my opponents can’t say that,” Garvey stated. “They’re only running for half the people. They show it every day. They go to Congress [and] they’re there to forward their career.”

“I’ll be a one-term, six-year senator who will step up to the plate every day and go to bat for the people of California who know there’s a better life and need somebody to be their voice,” he said. “They’ll be the wind beneath my wings, too.”

Melissa Fine

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