LOS ANGELES — Californians are voting Tuesday to fill the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, after a quiet vote dominated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff.

In a year when control of the Senate is at stake, Democrats are favored to easily take this seat in this liberal-leaning state where no Republican has won a Senate race since 1988, when President Ronald Reagan was in the House White.

Schiff, a Los Angeles-area congressman who rose to national prominence as the lead prosecutor in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, for months held an advantage in financing campaign and in polls about former Republican baseball star Steve Garvey.

Still, the campaign represents a turning point in California politics, which has long been dominated by Feinstein, former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, former Gov. Jerry Brown and a handful of other veteran Democratic politicians. The contest also means California will not have a woman representing it in the Senate for the first time in more than three decades.

Schiff has focused his campaign around national issues, including abortion rights, while continuing to play a counter-power role to Trump, calling the former president a threat to democracy. He also compared his years of experience in Congress — Schiff was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 — with Garvey, a first-time candidate who positioned himself as an outsider with a fresh perspective for addressing California’s long-running homelessness, inflation and housing crisis. costs.

Garvey, a former MVP and perennial All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, calls himself a “conservative moderate” who should not be boxed into conventional political labels, an obvious argument for voters independent and gentle democrats. in a state where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2-to-1.

The race has been largely overlooked in a year when control of the Senate will hinge on a handful of competitive races, including in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Montana.

The Republican Party has struggled for years in the nation’s most populous state, although it retains pockets of strength in rural areas, the Central Valley farm belt and parts of Southern California.

Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the legislature and congressional delegation by commanding margins. Republicans haven’t won a statewide race since 2006.

Garvey launched a final ad campaign targeting Latinos, who make up about a quarter of likely voters in California.

Feinstein, a centrist Democrat elected to the Senate in 1992, died at age 90 in September 2023. Laphonza Butler, a Democratic insider and former labor leader, was appointed to this seat after Feinstein’s death and decided not to run for office. full term this year. .