Adam Schiff, Steve Garvey each raised more than $3 million for U.S. Senate campaigns since February

Republican Steve Garvey and Rep. Adam Schiff raised nearly equal amounts from mid-February to late March to help fund their battle for a California U.S. Senate seat, according to reports filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

Schiff, D-Burbank, raised $3.51 million between Feb. 15 and March 31. Garvey, a former Major League baseball star, raised $3.39 million.

Schiff, who polls show is leading Garvey, still has financial advantages. He had $4.8 million on hand on March 31, the end of the reporting period, while Garvey had $1.6 million. Schiff also reported no debt, while Garvey’s campaign owes about $373,000 for various campaign-related services.

Schiff is also backed by Standing Strong, the SuperPAC that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to help elect him, and which has reported raising $10.1 million since the current election cycle began last year.

Garvey’s supporters recently created their own SuperPAC, Strike Out Schiff., though the group reported no financial activity in its latest report.

Schiff’s campaign, as well as Standing Strong, helped boost Garvey in the March 5 primary. So did Fairshake, a SuperPAC with ties to the crypto industry. A Bekerely-IGS poll in late February showed Schiff easily beating Garvey, the former baseball star, in a general election.

If Schiff had faced rival Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, who finished third in the primary, the poll showed a tie. The top two primary finishers, Schiff and Garvey, advanced to the November election.

As a SuperPAC, Standing Strong cannot coordinate or communicate with the Schiff campaign.

Its latest monthly report, covering activity ending March 31, listed contributions of six figures or more from several different sources during the 2023-24 election cycle.

Among them were groups affiliated with organized labor, including those with ties to unions representing carpenters, electrical workers, Teamsters and theatrical stage employees.

The biggest single contribution came from the United Democracy Project, which promotes “strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship in Congress.” It gave the SuperPAC $5 million. The group did not respond to a request for comment. PAC to the Future, which is affiliated with House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, gave $300,000 to the group.

Schiff was the House Intelligence Committee chairman from 2019 to 2023, while Pelosi was Speaker. He was the top prosecutor in the 2000 impeachment of President Donald Trump; Pelosi has been an enthusiastic Schiff supporter.

The SuperPAC reported $13,171 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.