In his Republican bid for California’s vacant Senate seat, former baseball star Steve Garvey is appealing to middle-class voters by blending policies targeting everyday issues with a touch of nostalgia.

Launching his campaign in October, Garvey has moved into second place, according to polling released in late December, leading Democratic career politicians, Reps. (D-CA) Katie Porter and Barbara Lee (D-CA). While he trails front-runner Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) by nine points, Garvey finds himself in a unique position to rally Republican voters from his home bases.

[Garvey may be the only Republican with enough name ID to unite GOP voters, but this is an all-in primary state, too. To get to the general election, Garvey has to finish in the top two, out of a field that has significant Democrat figures other than Schiff — Katie Porter, Barbara Lee, and more. They could split the Dem vote enough to allow Garvey to sneak onto the general-election ballot … but in a state this blue, that’s as far as any Republican outside of the Hollywood A-list could go. I was a huge Garvey fan back in the day, and I’m hoping he can pull off a miracle. I’m just not expecting one. — Ed]