BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Barely a month after House Republicans voted to censure him, Congressman Adam Schiff seemed to relish campaigning in the heart of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s district.
Schiff hopes to be the state’s next senator, after Diane Feinstein retires next year. He toured the San Joaquin Valley this week — with stops in Bakersfield and Fresno — to hear about local issues.
While Schiff is ostensibly running against fellow Democratic representatives Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, the congressman instead focused on McCarthy and former President Donald Trump during his Bakersfield stop.
“If Kevin McCarthy won’t represent his constituents in the House, I’ll represent them in the Senate,” the candidate told a cheering crowd of hundreds at the Kern County Democratic Party’s annual awards gala.
Schiff has raised a record-breaking $8.1 million on the back of his House censure, according to quarterly campaign filings. Earlier this summer, Schiff had already built a nearly three-to-one fundraising edgeover his fellow Democratic challengers.
Schiff also remains one of former President Donald Trump’s loudest critics, and served as prosecutor during Trump’s first impeachment.
Trump carried Kern County by nearly 10 points in 2020. But Democrats welcomed Schiff with open arms at the Downtown Bakersfield Marriott this week. Whether Schiff’s status as a foe of national Republicans will help or hinder his hopes of promoting to the upper house is unclear.
A July Public Policy Institute of California poll gave Porter a slight edge over Schiff among likely voters, with Lee trailing behind.
Schiff hears Valley issues
Energy and job growth issues dominated the conversation during a Schiff roundtable with local leaders, families and small business owners.
Lorelei Oviatt, the county’s director of Planning and Natural Resources, pointed out that nearly all of the green energy flowing to Schiff’s Los Angeles-area district is generated via Kern solar and wind projects.
She said local governments need to be able to collect a bigger piece of clean-energy revenues, so they can fund local infrastructure and essential services.
“It’s a different kind of environmental justice,” Oviatt said. “The equity of us being able to keep our libraries open while Santa Monica gets cheap, green electrons.”
Also a focus: the Valley’s healthcare infrastructure. Schiff asked about the state of local hospitals in light of Madera Community’s recent closure.
Schiff said he is pushing legislation to increase pay for those who teach and train nurses as a potential solution to rural healthcare problems. He also pointed to efforts to reduce housing costs and cut some of the yellow tape to build new homes.
“I have a record of effectiveness and getting things done for people,” he said. “I want to bring that record … to the Senate and make sure I’m delivering for Kern County.”
Kern Democrats hopeful
Local Democrats said they were energized by Schiff’s visit, despite the region’s conservative tilt.
“Kern County is a very special place. We’re in a blue state, but we’re a red county,” said Christian Romo, who chairs the county’s democratic party.
He said the issues occupying Kern voters are no different than the rest of California: Homelessness, the housing crisis and wages.
“We need to prioritize living-wage jobs, union jobs that provide benefits and give people a leg up into the middle class,” Romo said. “Without the middle class, there is no America.”
The party has yet to endorse any candidate in the Senate race. The state’s primary is March 5.
