California Senate candidate Steve Garvey said Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) reversal in his stance on President Biden’s reelection was an act of “selfish desperation” after Schiff discovered his own Senate campaign had fallen more than $1 million short.
“Adam Schiff’s recent self-serving move to abandon his candidacy for president has sparked a clear response from his supporters on social media,” Garvey, the Republican candidate running for the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat, told Fox News Digital. “What has been clear to millions of Americans for years is now clear to his supporters: all Adam Schiff cares about is Adam Schiff, and the people of California deserve a senator who will put them above politics.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital earlier this week, Schiff called on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, saying, “A second term for President Trump undermines the foundations of our democracy and I have serious concerns about whether he will be able to defeat President Donald Trump in November.”
Mr. Garvey Social Media Posts He said it was “not surprising” that Schiff called for Biden to resign this week “less than 24 hours after it was reported that our campaign had outraised Adam Schiff’s campaign by $1.2 million.”
Adam Schiff urges Biden to drop out of presidential race amid dwindling credibility of Democratic Party
Adam Schiff (left) and Steve Garvey (Getty Images)
Garvey said this is the first time in 14 years that a Republican candidate in California has outraised a Democratic candidate.
“It’s understandable that they felt they had to take dramatic action when this news broke,” he added. “When Adam Schiff announced that he didn’t think President Biden should run for reelection, it dominated the news cycle that day and helped bury our fundraising success story.”
Between April 1 and June 30, Garvey reportedly raised $5.4 million and Schiff $4.1 million.
Garvey also questioned why Schiff quickly called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race but did not ask him to resign.
“The question is, if Schiff doesn’t believe Biden is a competent candidate, why does he believe he will continue to be an competent president? It’s clear from Schiff’s own words that he is very concerned about his own chances and those of other inferior candidates in the November election,” Garvey said.
Earlier this week, Schiff praised Biden’s work in office, arguing that “Joe Biden is one of the most important presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a senator, vice president and now president has made our country better.”
“But our country is at a crossroads,” the California representative warned.
Schiff noted it is the president’s choice whether Biden withdraws from the election, but said this week that he “believes it is time for Biden to pass the baton.” (Getty Images)
Schiff noted that it is the president’s choice whether Biden withdraws from the election, but added that he “believes it is time for Biden to pass the baton.”
He also suggested that if Biden followed advice to drop out of the race, it would “enable him to defeat Donald Trump in the next election and uphold his leadership tradition.”
“But make no mistake: Whoever our party nominates, or if the nominee remains president, I will be committed to their success,” the California Democrat declared. “There is only one goal: to defeat Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high.”
Special Counsel Robert Hur Says Biden ‘Innocent’ and ‘Deserves Apology’ After Debate Performance
In March, Schiff grilled special counsel Robert Hur and defended Biden at a controversial House hearing over his February report’s portrayal of the president as “a caring, well-meaning, elderly man with a fragile memory.”
In his February report, Heo said no criminal charges would be filed against the president after a months-long investigation into allegations of improper storage of classified national security documents.
Schiff told Harr that the report “[d] Heo “has the greatest influence on the president,” he said, claiming that he knew his report would “have the greatest political impact.”
“Based on our direct interactions and observations of him, he is someone most jurors would want to have a reasonable doubt about,” the report said. “It would be difficult to persuade a jury that a former president, then well into his 80s, should be convicted of a felony requiring a willful mental condition.”
Schiff continued to press Harr, accusing him of knowing his words would spark a “political storm.” Harr said there was “no politics involved in this investigation.”
“What you wrote was deeply damaging to the interests of the president. You say it wasn’t political, but you should have understood that,” Schiff said. “You should have understood the impact of your words. You should have understood the impact of your decision to go beyond the specifics of a particular document and go into your own personal biases and subjective opinions about the president, which are very general, that you knew would be amplified by the president’s political opponents. You should have understood that when you knew it would impact a political campaign, and yet you did it. And yet you did it.”
Garvey, a former professional baseball player, will face Schiff in the Golden State’s Nov. 5 election, a race seen as a “Democrat favorite” by nonpartisan political prognosticators. Cook Political ReportThis gave Schiff an advantage over his opponents.
Garvey, a former professional baseball player, will face Schiff in California’s November 5 election. (Steve Garvey)
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Schiff’s announcement makes him the 20th Democratic member of Congress to urge Biden to drop out of the race, and the most prominent among House Democrats.
So far, 35 Democrats in both the House and the Senate have called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 election.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
