Democrat Adam Schiff will be the next U.S. Senator for California, according to projections from the Associated Press. Early returns showed that Schiff, who's spent the last two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives, cruised to a victory over Republican challenger Steve Garvey, as the race was called minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. Schiff has been elected to assume the Senate seat long held by California political powerhouse Dianne Feinstein, who died last September at the age of 90. The seat has since been occupied by Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill the vacancy after Feinstein's death. Butler agreed not to seek a full term in the Senate. Live updates: Election Day 2024 Schiff and Garvey's names actually appeared twice on California ballots as they faced off in two Election Day items. The first, a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat for the final two months of the 118th United States Congress, which ends in January; the second item to award a full six-year term in the Senate. U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff waves at supporters next to his wife Eve at an election night party, March 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Schiff has served in the House since 2001, representing the 30th Congressional District that includes Burbank, Glendale and parts of northernmost Los Angeles. During that time, Schiff became a national figure and a regular thorn in the side of then-President Donald Trump, serving as the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee and the impeachment manager in Trump's first impeachment trial. US Election Results: President, Senate, House & Governor Races Garvey, a former Major League Baseball first-baseman who sits near the top of several statistical leaderboards for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a political newcomer who ran on a platform that hoped to reach disenfranchised Californians who didn't align with the state's progressive policies nor the MAGA ideals of Trump. Former baseball player Steve Garvey speaks during a televised debate for candidates in the senate race to succeed the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein Jan. 22, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Garvey did not endorse Trump for POTUS or seek his endorsement in his Senate run, a gambit that the former president later referred to as a "big mistake." Garvey said he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but would not say publicly if he planned to vote for him a third time. Schiff's win continues a decadeslong streak of Democratic dominance in California. Republicans haven't won a U.S. Senate race in California since Pete Wilson was re-elected in 1988. A Republican hasn't won any statewide race in California since 2006. For the latest vote tallies in California's other statewide races and ballot initiatives, click here.