Key Takeaways from California’s 1st US Senate Debate
TL/DR –
Several US Senate candidates debated over claims on housing, jobs, and health care in California. Steve Garvey’s claim that California lost 800,000 to 1 million people due to lack of opportunities to start small businesses is false, with the census data indicating the state’s population decline is due to a variety of factors. Adam Schiff’s claim that many Californians lack access to good healthcare is mostly true with about 2.4 million lacking health insurance, while Katie Porter’s assertion about housing policy being influenced by big banks is somewhat true, with experts noting that the housing supply shortage is also influenced by local and state laws, the cost of supplies, and an imbalance between supply and population demand.
Fact-Checking the California US Senate Debate: Housing, Jobs, and Health Care
During a recent debate for the US Senate seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Barbara Lee, and Republican baseball star Steve Garvey made several claims regarding housing, jobs, and healthcare.
Garvey stated that California lost between 800,000 to a million middle-class people due to the inability to start new businesses. However, this claim is inaccurate. While California’s population has declined for the first time in more than a century, it’s by approximately 573,000 people since 2020 according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Demographers cite multiple factors for the decline including COVID-19 deaths, slowing birth rates, slowed migration, and the search for more affordable living, not exclusively the hardship of starting small businesses.
Schiff claimed that thousands of Californians lack access to decent healthcare, which is largely accurate. Despite reaching its lowest uninsured rate of 6.2% in 2022, this still leaves around 2.4 million Californians without health insurance according to the California Healthcare Foundation. Governor Newsom’s efforts to expand Medi-Cal access aim to close this gap further, though low reimbursement rates for physicians serving Medi-Cal patients remain a barrier to care.
Porter argued that Washington’s housing policies, influenced by big bank donors, fail to meet the needs of seniors, people with disabilities, and young people. There’s some truth to this. While housing policy is indeed shaped by lobbying groups like The National Association of Realtors, one of the top Congressional spenders since 2020, the lack of affordable housing in California stems from a variety of complexities beyond federal laws, including state and local laws, the cost of supplies, and the inability of supply to match population growth.
For more details about the debate, visit our partner the San Francisco Chronicle. And for more information on the upcoming California 2024 primary, check out our comprehensive guide.
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