Rep. Katie Porter has a slight edge over Rep. Adam Schiff in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat held for decades by Dianne Feinstein, who died in September.

According to a new poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, Porter has the support of 17% of likely voters in next year’s primary vote. Schiff has 16%.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Katie Porter has a slight edge over Rep. Adam Schiff in the race to fill the late Senator Dianne Feinstein's seat now held by Laphonza Butler

  • Porter has 17% support of likely voters; Schiff has 16%

  • Former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Steve Garvey is in third place with 10% support

  • California will hold its primary on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Less than a month since declaring his candidacy, former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star, Republican Steve Garvey, claimed third place in the poll with 10% support. Rep. Barbara Lee, who rounds out the trio of House Democrats pursuing the seat, is in fourth place with 9%.

“The race to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late Dianne Feinstein in next year’s March primary election remains a wide-open affair,” Berkeley IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said in a statement Friday. Despite the strong standing of Porter and Schiff, he noted that 30% of the state’s likely voters remain undecided.

The last time the poll was taken in August, Schiff had a slight lead, with 20% of likely voters supporting him, followed by Porter, with 17%, while Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, tied for third place at 7%.

The newest IGS poll noted that Porter has “big leads among voters under age 50 while Schiff is the clear favorite of voters ages 65 or older” and Lee dominates among the state’s Black voters.

The IGS administered its most recent poll online in English and Spanish from October 24-30, polling 6,342 registered California voters.

Republican candidates took the fifth and sixth spots in the new poll, with businessman James Bradley claiming 7% support, followed by attorney Eric Early at 4%.

California is one of more than a dozen states that will hold its primary on March 5, 2024. Under the state’s voting system, the two candidates who earn the most votes proceed to the general election, even if the two candidates are from the same political party.

The most recent UC-Berkeley poll suggests Porter and Schiff are the most likely candidates to clear the state’s primary and make it to the November general election. Democrats have held the Senate seat now temporarily filled by Laphonza Butler for 35 years. Two-thirds of California voters are Democrats.