Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey secured a U.S. Senate showdown with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on a shoestring budget and with a wispy campaign schedule, but he now faces a daunting question: What is next?

Garvey, a perennial All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, expressed optimism about the campaign to come for the seat once occupied by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Still, heavily Democrat California has not elected a GOP Senate candidate since 1988, a year after Garvey retired from baseball. ...

"They say in the general election that we're going to strike out," Garvey, a first-time candidate, said of his doubters in his post-victory speech. "Know this: It ain't over 'til it's over."