Steve Garvey didn’t do great in his first debate. But here’s how he can win over more voters to his side. – Orange County Register

At the Jan. 22 debate for U.S. senator from California, Republican Steve Garvey whiffed by not offering specifics on several issues. His three Democratic opponents – Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee – ganged up on him. 

He gets two more at bats in debates on Feb. 12 and 20. He should relish the chance to call them a gang of tax increasers hurting the middle class.

Garvey resembles Ronald Reagan in appearance and tone. The Gipper flubbed his first debate in 1984 against Walter Mondale, took more batting practice, then trounced Mondale in the last two debates. Good showings would launch Garvey past the March 5 primary and toward the Nov. 5 general election.

The latest Emerson College/Inside California Politics survey put Schiff in first place at 25%, with 18% for Garvey, 13% for Porter and 8% for Lee. 

Garvey said he had talked to people around the state. The people he spoke with complained the politicians just want them to pay more taxes. As Garvey explained, “You just have to go to the gas pump in the morning and see hard-working Californians buying $10 worth of gas instead of 10 gallons’ worth of gas…. 88% of Californians feel that they’re losing money or breaking even.”

This is an opportunity for Garvey. Taxes are the pitch down the middle of the strike zone for Republicans. It’s their main brand. It’s what brought Reagan victory in 1980 and 1984; George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004; and Trump in 2016. 

As I mentioned in my previous column on the Senate election, Garvey’s campaign sent me this statement from Garvey on his view of tax policy, “I would definitely support a middle-class tax cut and tax relief for all Californians.” But on his website, under “Steve’s Vision,” there’s nothing on taxes. 

He needs specifics and a clear, simple plan. He should contact economist Arthur Laffer, who helped design California’s Proposition 13 tax cuts in 1978 and Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts, which propelled the soaring 1980s economic growth. Garvey should be able to tell every Californian how much he or she would enjoy in lower taxes. 

Tax cuts also would provide strong answers for other issues. For example, on homelessness, Garvey said he would audit federal spending. That’s static thinking. Instead, he should propose middle-class income tax cuts to allow Californians to build more housing, which in turn would reduce the housing shortage, including for the homeless. It’s Economics 101: Increase supply and prices drop.