Election 2010: California Senate California Senate: Boxer 42%, Campbell 41%

Embattled Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer remains in a virtual tie with Republican challenger Tom Campbell, but two other GOP hopefuls are still failing to gain traction in California’s race for the U.S. Senate. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in California shows Boxer with 42% support in a match-up with Campbell, a former congressman, who earns 41%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and 12% remain undecided. These numbers have changed little since March and April. But Boxer now posts a 45% to 38% lead over former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Given that match-up, four percent (4%) like another candidate, and 12% are undecided. Conservative State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore trails Boxer 46% to 40%, with four percent (4%) opting for another candidate and 11% undecided.

Vote for who you really want, not who the party tells you has the best chance of winning. You will be surprised what we can accomplish.

There's something to be said for what you suggest. But what if what is accomplished is a fourth term for Barbara Boxer. In a sane state I'd agree with you. But California is a basket case politically (I live here) and perhaps a moderate is the best we can do. We will need to depend on states like Texas and Alabama for our solid conservatives and a moderate conservative like Campbell would be a huge improvement over Boxer. We have millions of wishy washy moderates who just might vote for Campbell but wouldn't vote for DeVore. I'm not sure about Fiorina. I'm not even sure how I will vote. This is a tough call. I know one thing for sure, I despise Barbara Boxer and hope that the candidate who has the best chance of defeating her wins the nomination.

Politically speaking, progress is usually made in small increments and not in big leaps.

Politically speaking, progress is usually made in small increments and not in big leaps.

I am looking the same concept but apply it differentl. Progress has not come in increments with each current electin cycle as you suggest. We been on that plan and the party is awash in RINO's with no committment to a conservative agenda.

For Gosh sakes, they would not even come to the aid of Dan Quayle when he made his Murphey Brown speech - It was Bill Clinton that years later said Quayle was right on Murphey Brown.

The GOP main line ran like roaches when the TV camera lights turned on a statment expressing a core conservative position.

To make progress, the party base needs to be taken seriously. That will only come when the party base consistently votes only for candidates that truly represents their views, not the compromise candidate.

Had this approach been tried a few election cycles back, we would be much closer to the progress we are looking for. Continue to vote for the compromise candidates and it is a sure thing we will never get there. History proves that.

How many times do we keep running into the same wall without trying a way around it?

Tied with a complete (for now) unknown?

Actually, Campbell is not a complete unknown here in California. He ran for Senate before and lost, of course. He also served several terms in the U.S. House. His politics are a mix of libertarian, social liberal, and fiscal conservative. If he gets elected, no one here on FreeRepublic should expect him to be as far to the right as most on this forum.

He comes from northern California and represented a congressional districts in Oakland/Berkley/San Jose.

He is strongly pro choice on abortion and also on gay rights.

Campbell has done some peculiar things in his political career, not the least of which was writing a letter in 2002 in defense of Sami Al-Arian. In January 1986, Al-Arian was hired as an assistant professor in the Computer Sciences Department of the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa. After 9/11/01, the Bush administration began investigating Al-Arian. He was indicted in 2003 and, on March 2, 2006, Al-Arian entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to help the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison, and ordered deported following his prison term.

On January 21, 2002, Campbell wrote a letter to USF's president asking that Al-Arian not be disciplined or dismissed. In 2006, after Al-Arian's guilty plea, Campbell said he had not been aware of the charges against Al-Arian when he wrote that letter. I'll leave it to you, fellow FReepers, to figure out why a California politican should be writing a letter in defense of a radical Islamist professor at the University of South Florida. Personally, I'm more moderate than most FReepers, but I have not nor will I ever vote for Tom Campbell for anything.

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