Jewish Incumbent Race Profile: Barbara Boxer

Linda Berg — March 18, 2010 – 9:36 am | Democrats | Election 2010 | Reproductive Rights | Republicans Comments (0) Add a comment

Three Republican hopefuls have set their eye on Barbara Boxer’s California Senate Seat. Fortunately for Boxer, who has had to fight for her seat in every race since she was elected to the US Senate during the 1992 “Year of the Woman,” the three are in the process of waging very destructive primary campaigns and lobbing bizarre campaign ads and pungent accusations at each other.

 

The California primary is June 8. Mickey Kaus, a political blogger on the Slate Website, has filed papers to challenge Boxer in the primary saying “I have no special beef with the incumbent.”  That probably won’t appear to be a compelling reason to ditch a popular 3 term incumbent, so my assumption is that she will be safe in her primary. However, depending on who wins the Republican contest, Boxer may have a real race on her hands in the general.

First there is CA State Assemblyman, Chuck DeVore, the darling of the California Tea Party movement.who is hoping to stage an upset in the primary and become the next Scott Brown. DeVore is also closely connected to the birther movement .

Then there is former US Representative and unsuccessful 2000 Senate nominee, Tom Campbell who calls himself a moderate, but who is battling accusations of hostility toward Israel. It seems that in 2002, he defended a professor at the University of South Florida who called for the “death” of Israel and promoted “jihad.” At a press conference recently, Campbell admitted that it was an error to defend, Sami Al-Arian and that he regrets not returning campaign contributions from Al-Arian. There are also allegations from one of his primary opponents that Campbell voted consistently to “cut off aid to Israel.”

The last of the challenging Republicans, is former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who has contributed almost $3,000,000 personal money to the race. You may remember that Fiorina was tapped by McCain and Palin as their validator for women as well as for economic policies. Although having never run for office, she paints her corporate management experience as proof of her qualifications. However, her stint as CEO of Hewlett-Packard was not without controversy.

The Fiorina campaign wins the prize for the most bizarre series of ads thus far in this campaign cycle. Her first three and a half minute ad attacking her primary opponent Tom Campbell starred a demonic sheep, Monty Python type cartoons, and pigs. Her second ad actually depicts Senator Boxer as a hot air balloon floating over the state of California and casting dark shadows across the landscape before deflating and sinking in the Pacific Ocean.  And just in case her distain for the Senator was not clear enough, there is an unbearable scene with fingernails scratching on a chalkboard.

Rasmussen just released a poll showing that “Boxer is in a virtual dead heat with Tom Campbell” with Campbell at 43% and Boxer at 41%. In this poll Boxer, with 46%, leads both Fiorina and DeVore who each poll at 40%. Obama won California with 61% and Boxer won her 2004 race with 58% of the vote. Still, this will be a race to watch, particularly if Fiorina wins the June 3 primary. Boxer has never faced a strong, well funded, anti-choice, woman opponent. And at least in this latest poll, Independents, when given the choice between Boxer and Fiorina, pick Fiorina with a slight edge.  

 

 

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