CA Shocker: DeVore Ahead of Fiorina In Race Against Boxer

For some time now it's been conventional wisdom that Barbara Boxer was in deep trouble in her race to keep her Senate seat and that Carly Fiorina had the best shot at taking her out. A new poll is casting serious doubt on the second part of that equation.

According to this snapshot, released yesterday, CA State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore does better against Boxer in a hypothetical matchup than Fiorina would.

The assumption that Fiorina would run stronger against Boxer than DeVore has made fundraising a challenge but this poll is likely to change all of that for DeVore and open up the spigots of campaign cash. And Boxer, who has coasted to victories over a series of weak candidates, may face the challenge of her lifetime should DeVore make it to the show. While the GOP typically runs uber-conservatives who are easily to marginalize as too right-wing for the state, DeVore may defy easy categorization. He's conservative to be sure on all of the issues that matter to GOP primary voters, but leads with defense and budget issues in a time when people are far more concerned about jobs and deficits. He's also become a favorite of the state's powerhouse talk radio hosts, John & Ken, and if they push his candidacy, it could be a game-changer. The two don't fit the profile of typical conservative talkers, generally taking a moderate to liberal position on social issues, while focusing their populist rage on tax and budget issues.

In the recent past, California Senate races have tended to be snoozers, with Democrats winning by huge margins. If the nation remains mired in economic distress in 2010, the Republicans, with a candidate like DeVore, may pull off a stunning upset.

 

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Comments

[JadedAggie]

I'd be more fearful if that was a SurveyUSA poll. Rasmussen can barely poll whether children like candy.

[randro]

Boxer wins....we all lose.

[Osusuki]

Chuck DeVore has more name recognition than Fiorino. So what? Orange County loves him because they never met a conservative they didn't like, but to the rest of the state, he's just one more Assembly dimwit who couldn't come up with a budget plan and threw it all to the voters in a special election last year. Here's a poll number for you: 58% of all Californians think life would be much better if the Republican party disappeared off the face of the earth.

[mommadona]

"Carlyfornication"? Never had a chance.

Uh....Hewlett Packard is based in Silicon Valley - she left a NASTY stink when she was dumped for running the business into the ground.

And - EVERYbody knows her 'Calyfornia' ad is a direct ripoff of Mervyn's Dept Store logo (by the way - they went bankrupt a bit back)...."­Open...Ope­n....Open"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY4OEwiTHMM&feature=related

[S1m0n]

Fiorina's just not that talented. She's been consistently underwhelmed in politics, as her disastrous foray as a John McCain proxy in the last election demonstrated. Is it her money that makes her think she can start her political career so close to the top? She needs to go and put in a few terms on some school board or municipal council before she starts thinking about taking a run at the senate.

And frankly, her business career was no triumph, either. She destroyed so much value at HP that its board eventually paid her 20 million dollars to go away.

[S1m0n]

It's time people noticed Fiorina's consistent pattern of underwhelming when called upon to show her political talent. She was a disaster as a John McCain proxy during the election, and she's not looking any more able now. Is it her money that makes people think she's suited to a life in politics? She's never been elected to anything. Why does she think she's entitled to start near the top? She needs to go and put in a couple of terms on some school board or city council, and not return to national politics until she's gained some experience.

And frankly, her previous business career wasn't much more successful, given that she destroyed huge amounts of HP's net worth with her disastrous takeover of Compaq, and that the HP board eventually opted to pay her 20 million dollars to go away.

[Scarborian]

Fiorina's time in California at HP was a disaster for the company and great for her, she was kicked out but walked away with a multi-million dollar hand shake. It took HP years to regain the ground it lost. Folks in California know what she did. Why would they ever vote for her?

[Querent]

This is a shocker? Fiorina is not only a total failure at her chosen career, she also represents the worst corporatism and the most regressive type of conservatism. Why would even dimbulb Republicans want to support her?

[Agentprovokatur]

It's quite entertaining to watch these Republican candidates fight tooth and nail, spending their fortunes and reputations so they can be Number Two, in more ways than one, in the final race for the Senate seat that Boxer will retain in 2010.

[mcmutter]

Carly is under the delusion that she is some type of national leader.

[AnnfromCA]

Boxer represents only the most liberal of Californians.

[themodernleader]

As leadership fails the people, there will be more attention to trying out new players. Watch the 2010 elections to sprout a whole new group of political leaders who promise everything and deliver for the powerful and connected. In human history, quoting The Modern Leader, they will be known as demigogues.

[Changeizgood]

Time to donate to Barbara Boxer's campaign. She's been a fighter for green technology and clean air for years. WE just got the majority and all WE need are some more serious cnadidates like Boxer who has been a strong leader. So kick out the Blue Dogs and leave Boxer in. Besides, she's like Stabenow, she will speak truth to power and beyond. Yess it's her time to put forth OUR ideas that have been on the shelf or in the Auto and Gas companies file cabinet for almost 30 years.
And she has the name to fit the cajones!

Go Barbara, help and hope is on the way. With people like Inhofe, she has knocked down a few times.

Time for our generation to have its say on clean air, especially in CA.

[Querent]

Boxer is a real progressive, one we other progressives can always count on to champion our point of view. Progressives nationwide will be there for her, as she is always here for us.

[peacegurl48]

I cannot believe that a Republican could have a stunning victory after the Schwarzenegger nightmare.
Republican corporatists are trying to privatize the state and turn it RED. Arnold fooled many of my fellow Liberals but I hope that won't happen again. California is becoming unrecogonizable.

[TRex86]

California Republicans have a death wish. In the past they couldn't lose with true moderates--and even the occasional true conservative like Reagan. Two typical recent examples of their self-destruction. Instead of Tom Campbell, a bright, moderate Stanford faculty member they ran a right wing talker against Boxer and lost handily. The epitome however was when Pete Wilson (a moderate by contemporary standards) rolled the dice and went xenophobe to beat Dianne Feinstein. He won, and the Republicans have lost the Hispanic vote for generations to come. What's left of California Republicans is like the rest of the country. Only safe WASP enclaves elect them. No one is a match for Boxer. DeVore might make a race of it. I'm glad that Fiorina is trailing. It's not the party of Earl Warren.

[YunekFlava]

"If the nation remains mired in economic distress in 2010, the Republicans, with a candidate like DeVore, may pull off a stunning upset".

So when did this economic mess become the Dems mess? DeVore might look good against Fiorina, but so does my favorite local grocery clerk, she has a real grasp on what's really going on, and how we got into this mess and how to get out of it too. By the way, she's a real knockout, intelligent and articulate. I think she could out fund raise both of them, and besides, she can design a professional website, that would make Gates proud.

[JeffersonAdams]

Dream on, pal. Boxer crushes Fiorina. Crushes DeVore. Crushes all Republican challengers. Safe seat.
End of story.