It must have been a night of mixed emotions for former congressman Adam Schiff, the perpetual thorn in Trump’s side, as he won the Senate primary race in California but was then dramatically and quite viciously booed off the stage by pro-Gazan protesters during his victory speech. Former Rep. Schiff is running to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s former seat.
As background, Dianne Feinstein died at age 90 in September of 2023. Gavin Newsom then appointed a Senator to serve the remainder of her term, and now Schiff is running to fill the seat that she held for three decades.
On the night of Super Tuesday, March 4, he advanced a step in the race, securing the top spot in it with the lion’s share of the vote. Finishing in second place was the Republican challenger, Steve Garvey. They were running head to head, along with numerous other candidates, as California puts all the candidates on the ballot, and the top two advance to the November election. Schiff won about 37% of the vote and Garvey 29%, with the much progressive Porter coming in third with about 15%.
Garvey has little real chance to win, as Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans in California, but he was still hopeful on election night. “Welcome to the California comeback. What you are all feeling tonight is what it’s like to hit a walk-off home run,” he said. He added, “Keep the evening of November 5th open, as we will celebrate again,” Garvey added. “They say in the general election that we are going to strike out. You know what? That’s from the crowd that believes in the status quo.”
Schiff, though he won the primary and is likely to win the general election, had a less good night. He was booed by pro-Gaza protesters who chanted “ceasefire now” while Schiff tried to make his way through his speech. He proved unable to do make his speech over the sound of their chants, and security tried to remove the protesters but failed.
Schiff then tried to make the presence of the protesters seem like a sign of the “strength” of democracy, but failed. Their numbers and voices overwhelmed his. Schiff then ended his speech, with Deadline reporting that the disruptive chants of the protesters “Likely force[ed] a shorter speech than the gregarious politician intended.”
Fox News, posting about the embarrassing incident on X (formerly Twitter), wrote, “SCHIFF SHOW: Democrat who pushed Trump-Russia claims that turned out to be fake gets booed off his own stage during a victory speech.”
Watch the moment here:
In addition to being upset over the mainstream Democratic Party’s stance on the Israel-Gaza dispute, some on the left dislike that Schiff won because he is a white male. For example, Cal Matters quotes a University of California San Diego professor, Thad Kousser, as saying, “We have two old white men in this incredibly diverse and dynamic state … fighting to replace Dianne Feinstein’s seat.” Kousser added, “This looks like your grandfather’s California.”
Similarly, Cal Matters quoted a state government employee named Charlene Bennett as saying, “I don’t think it’s just enough to say, ‘I support women.’” Bennett added, “When we talk about women’s rights, reproductive rights, we need to have a woman there in the moment when decisions are happening.”
