Dem
51
GOP
49
Adam Schiff doesn't need a lot of help defeating Republican Steve Garvey in November, but he got some anyway. It has now come out that although Garvey made a lot of money as a baseball player and then as a pitchman afterwards, he lived the good life and spent much more than he had. He also neglected to pay his taxes. He has been named in 40 tax liens and owes the feds and California almost $4 million in back taxes. A Garvey spokesman said that the candidate is working to pay off what he owes.
So now, if Schiff wants to bother running ads, he can talk about his opponent as a deadbeat tax cheat, a far cry from his former image as baseball's "Mr. Clean." After his baseball career was over, Garvey got involved with a number of somewhat iffy schemes, selling autographed baseballs, working as a motivational speaker, and pitching dubious health products. He also sold personalized Cameo videos for $149 each. That brought in some cash, but he didn't bother to pay taxes on it. It eventually caught up with him and now he is deep in debt, in addition to the back taxes he owes. He owes his lawyers hundreds of thousands and he owes his gardeners, handymen, and housekeepers, mere hundreds.
Garvey is not like Trump. Many of Trump's cons actually work and bring in lots of money. Garvey's have been much less successful. Will his financial problems be a problem in the Senate race? Under almost all conditions, a Republican running against a well-known and popular Democrat statewide in California would have almost no chance, but if Schiff really goes after him as a weak loser, that will seal the deal. How about a slogan: "Garvey may have been a Dodger, but he's no Angel?" (V)