Free Republic

With memories of NY-23 fresh in the minds of conservative activists, the fight over California’s GOP Senate nominee to potentially unseat Barbara Boxer has turned into a game of “who is conservative enough?” Carly Fiorina is playing defense. “I've been called all sorts of things, so I prefer to just tell you what I am,” said Fiorina, in a recent interview with Flash Report. “I am a fiscal conservative. I hold conservative values…I believe that life begins at conception.” That would seem pretty straightforward – until you talk to Chuck DeVore. “She is a big government Republican. Pure and simple....

Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is trying to literally take Sen. Barbara Boxer's title from her. Fiorina has launched a new Web site, callmebarbara.com, to attack her opponent and create a future where people call the senator by her first name, rather than using her title and her last name. "Call me Barbara is an effort to ensure that nobody ever has to call Barbara Boxer 'Senator' ever again," the site reads. The site's name is in response to a situation earlier this year when Sen. Boxer asked Brigadier General Michael Walsh to call her "senator" instead of "ma'am" during...

Tough-as-nails former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina kicked off her U.S. Senate campaign this week with defiant words for a ruthless opponent - her cancer. "Let me start with the most obvious question: What's with the hair?" she asked a crowd in Orange County, motioning to the graying buzz cut that replaced her auburn wigs of recent months."I'm happy to tell you that having been through surgery and chemotherapy and radiation, breast cancer is officially behind me. I feel absolutely great and I am raring to go."In California, where politics and drama are wedded, the Republican candidate's public embrace of a...

Carla Fiorina's been (officially) on the campaign trail for, what, three days and it's like she's already wearing the GOP Senate crown. Boxer, Boxer, Boxer, Boxer, Boxer. That's the only opponent she can talk about. Hey Carly, where's the respect for Chuck D from the OC, aka her GOP primary opponent Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore? At her Pleasanton stop Friday, C-Fi was asked why she keeps talking about Boxer and not Chuck: "She is the opponent," Carly said and laughed. Uh, perhaps -- if you win the GOP primary in June. .. ... Carly's staff must have hid the...

WATCH VIDEO (1:43)chuckdevore.com - Nobody is really sure what Carly Fiorina really stands for. In the past year she has supported the bailout parts of the stimulus, cap and tax, and other liberal policies proposed by President Obama and Barbara Boxer. Can we really trust Carly on these issues?

California Republican Execs have a chance to redeem themselves ... After two serious fumbles: 1. Teresa Hernandez for Congressional District 32, May 2009, and 2. David Harmer for Congressional District 10, November 2009. How can they shed their Keystone Cops image? Answer: Follow the Jim deMint lead and support Chuck DeVore to replace senator Boxer. Do not support Carly Fiorina, she is the poster girl of affirmative action. The Board at Hewlett Packard (mostly heirs of Wm. Hewlett and David Packard) soon discovered she was unsuitable, because rather than build on HP strengths, she sought to expand via acquisition, mostly...

Carly Fiorina (R) on Thursday announced the endorsements of eight Republican senators for her just-launched California Senate campaign. After primary opponent Chuck DeVore annonced the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) this week, Fiorina fought back with Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), John McCain (Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Olympia Snowe (Maine).

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO-turned-McCain campaign advisor and surrogate, announced on Thursday the endorsements of eight Republican Senators, including conservative stalwart Senator Tom Coburn. “Our nation is facing serious economic challengers because we keep rehiring the same failed career politicians who have proven themselves incapable of making hard choices,” read Coburn’s statement. “Carly’s common sense and fiscal conservatism will be a welcome addition to the United States Senate. I am glad to offer her my endorsement.” Today’s announcement by Fiorina, who only formally announced her bid for Senate on Wednesday, comes on the heels of Senator Jim Demint’s endorsement...

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive officer, announced Wednesday she will run for a U.S. Senate seat from California. The announcement by Mrs. Fiorina, a Republican, ends months of speculation about her plans to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer, the three-term Democratic incumbent. "Get ready," Mrs. Fiorina said during a town-hall-style event in Orange County. "I can take a punch, and I can throw a punch. I'm not a brawler, and I'm not a boxer, [but] I can take on Barbara Boxer." Her campaign so far has played out in quintessential Southern California style. The event was held at...

The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate candidates across the country. “To those people who are pursuing purity, you’ll become a club not a party,” Graham told POLITICO in the Capitol Wednesday. “Those people who are trying to embrace conservatism in a thoughtful way that fits the region and the state and the district are going to do well. Conservativism is an asset. Blind ideology is not.” Graham, who has sparred with his party’s right wing...

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) endorsed conservative California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) Tuesday, once again going against the wishes of his party. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has made no endorsement in the California Senate race, but party leaders favor former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina (R), a wealthy centrist whom many believe could give Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) a strong challenge. Later this month, Fiorina will be the guest of honor at a Washington fundraiser featuring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and three others,...

Two words… “Barbara Boxer,” the mental midget for whom no US surrender is too quick, no tax too high and no government program too big. Sometimes the smart fight is the good fight and a partial victory better than a moral victory. California is not a red state or a purple state where a RHINO is a defeat. It is one of the bluest of the blue. BHO won California by 24% and 3,000,000 votes. BHO won here by more votes than the total votes cast in New Jersey last night! Boxer won her last race by 20%. You may...

Nov 4, 2009 Chuck DeVore statement on Carly Fiorina Declaring her Candidacy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- DeVore for California, the campaign organization for Chuck DeVore's bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in California, today welcomes the entry of Carly Fiorina to the race. Fiorina's arrival means Republican voters have a clear choice in this primary: between an establishment-picked, big-government moderate with lots of cash but little experience in public life -- and a volunteer-supported, proven conservative with a long record of civic engagement in Chuck DeVore. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore said, "I look forward to engaging Carly Fiorina on...

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina says she'll run for the U.S. Senate seat held by California incumbent Barbara Boxer. Fiorina ended months of speculation Wednesday with an announcement in an opinion piece she wrote for the Orange County Register. She's scheduled to make a formal announcement later in the day.

All we know for sure is that Carly Fiorina has a busy schedule on tap. Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard CEO, has been exploring a bid for the U.S. Senate, and the buzz is that she will officially announce her candidacy next week to challenge Assemblyman Chuck DeVore in the Republican primary. The Contra Costa Times reported last week that Fiorina is headed to Pleasanton on Friday, Nov. 6 to make a "very important" announcement to the Tri-Valley Business Council. Indeed, Council President and CEO Tobias Brink said yesterday that it "would be my assumption" that Fiorina is planning an...

Web 2.0: Carly Fiorina talks potential Senate run, breast cancer battle, and government tech policy ...snip... “I have seen the best and the worst of our healthcare system,” she said, with her voice shaking slightly with the emotional moment that focused on her own health. But she told the audience at the dinner that she was healthy. She was there to talk about her possible bid as a Republican candidate to take on Democrat Barbara Boxer. Fiorina didn’t outright declare her candidacy, but she said she was exploring the idea. ...snip... Fiorina got polite applause, but some of her boldest...

State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore: One politician I find impressive Out of touch, totally disrespectful and completely arrogant. These are all things that come to mind when I think of political elitists like California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. A revolution is brewing and come 2010, a day of reckoning will alter the course of our future drastically. Simply replacing the current evil (same old Democrats) with a lesser evil (Same old Republicans) will not do. It has been done before and is why corruption continues to rage-on despite shifts in power. (snip) "I'm for what's right. Common sense to...

Chuck DeVore on today's big issues and why he wants to take down Boxer “Everything Boxer says about cap and trade is not true.” That’s according to three-term Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine). DeVore is the lesser-known name in the Senate race that features the well-known, if not polarizing, Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina. He is trying to steal the spotlight from the two and become California’s next great Republican Senator. But for now, DeVore has to be concerned with Fiorina, who he will most likely face in the Republican primary next June. DeVore sat down with the SDNR editorial board....

Great interview between U.S. Senatorial candidate Chuck DeVore and talk show host Laura Ingrahm. They talk about defeating Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina. LINKY

DeVore assails Schwarzenegger, Fiorina Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore said Monday night Republicans would repeat the mistake they made in supporting Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor if they back former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina for the Senate. In a speech to the Republican Party of San Diego County, DeVore, a three-term Assembly member from Irvine who cannot run for re-election because of term limits, denounced Schwarzenegger for signing a gun control bill and one establishing a day of recognition for slain gay-rights leader Harvey Milk. "We were told in 2003 that it was important in this historic one-of-a-kind recall...

Cary Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and probable candidate for U.S. Senate from California, is starting to look like a viable choice for conservative voters in the Golden State, giving the GOP two conservatives from whom to chose. Fiorina's bona fides have been a question to many California Republicans because she is a relative newcomer to politics and many are not familiar with her political philosophy or what her campaign will stand for. But her recent hard hitting editorial in the Fresno Bee helps bring her ideals better into focus for the voters. Firoina's editorial in the Bee focuses on the...

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is message-testing with a web ad going after former Hewlett Packard boss Carla Fiorina -- highlighting her huge severance package and the 18,000 staff reductions she instituted to bolster profits and HP's stock price. Fiorina has filed papers with the California elections board and is expected to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) next fall. Her cash, name recognition and ease on TV have gotten Democrats good and worried. A July Rasmussen Survey [take it with a grain] shows Boxer leading Fiorina by a 45-to-41 percent. The first quote is from Fiorina herself from a recent...

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer holds a strong edge over possible Republican challengers seeking to unseat her in the 2010 election, according to a new Field Poll of registered voters. The poll, conducted via telephone between Sept. 18 and Oct. 6, showed Boxer holding a double-digit lead over two GOP hopefuls, declared candidate Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, and former Hewlett Packard executive Carly Fiorina, who has not declared her candidacy but has formed an exploratory committee. Boxer beat Fiorina 49 percent to 35 percent, and DeVore 50 percent to 33 percent. The poll indicated that much of Boxer's lead could stem...

Is it Carly's or Macy's? Have you seen the new Carly Fiorina mini flier? As CA GOP vice chair -- and host of the FlashReport conservative blog -- Jon Fleischman quipped to us: "It looks like a Macy's ad." Hey, we've heard of retail politics, Carly, but this is taking it to a new level. Here's the flier for C-rina's exploratory Senate campaign: Carly's rival Chuck DeVore just dropped an online ad goofing on her Carlyfornia signs, which we noted the other day...

Calif. GOP looks to 2010 races for gov., US Senate INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) -- The Republican race to challenge liberal stalwart Barbara Boxer for her U.S. Senate seat next year is shaping up as a likely contest between a socially conservative state lawmaker and a former Silicon Valley chief executive whose views are barely known to GOP voters in the state. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive and John McCain confidante, is not yet an official candidate, but she has registered a campaign committee, "Carly for California," and her team had a strong presence at this weekend's statewide...

Why do reports show DeVore outspending Fiorina? Republican political logic says that Carly Fiorina is a better candidate than Chuck DeVore because she can spend more money on a campaign challenging incumbent Democratic U.S Senator Barbara Boxer. Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is a multi-millionaire. DeVore, an Orange County Assemblyman, has a reputation as a weak fundraiser. So why is it that DeVore reported spending $5,000 within a week of announcing his candidacy while Fiorina, with her phalanx of consultants, says she hasn’t hit that mark in six weeks? At this point, Fiorina says she is only exploring a...

Carly Fiorina is emerging as a potential GOP challenger for the US Senate seat of Bay Area liberal Barbara Boxer next year, and the prospect has energized the California Republican Party. Not yet an official candidate, Ms. Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett Packard (HP) and was an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid last year. Like Meg Whitman, who just announced her campaign for governor, Fiorina is a newcomer to politics with very deep pockets. She has registered a campaign committee that reportedly had a strong presence at the state GOP convention this past weekend in...

(CNN) – Two Republican statewide candidates in California are touting the results of a state GOP convention straw poll that showed conservative activists overwhelmingly rejecting the gubernatorial bid of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and the likely Senate bid of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. The campaign of gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner boasted about his 64-point victory over Whitman in Sunday's straw poll on their Web site and on Twitter. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore's campaign touted their own dominating win over Fiorina — 91 percent to six percent — in a campaign e-mail celebrating their success at this weekend's Fall...

Meg Whitman, the businesswoman-turned-politician who is perhaps the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for governor next year, has largely failed the most basic test of citizenship — voting. Sadly, the voting record of Carly Fiorina, the GOP's hope for unseating U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer next year, isn't much better. Speaking at a state Republican convention in Sacramento earlier this year, Whitman, evidently trying to defuse the issue in advance, said this: “Voting is a precious gift handed down by generations of Americans. I regret not having delivered my vote on several occasions.” Several occasions? Try almost never, at least...

We were just tucking an extra flask into the suitcase before heading out to the GOP convention today, when peeps for GOP Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (aka Chuck D. from the OC) breathlessly pointed to a new Rasmussen Poll that shows that Sen. Barbara Boxer is thumping Chuck D by nine points (46 to 37 percent). And yes, that's the good news. Why? Because Boxer is thumping ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina by 10 points. (49 percent to 39 percent). Rasmussen: "Any incumbent who polls less than 50 ercent is considered vulnerable, and 2010 is shaping up as a tough political year...

Election 2010: California Senate 2010 California Senate: Boxer Beats Fiorina, DeVore So far, so good for incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer in match-ups against her two best-known Republican opponents to date in California’s 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. A new Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey of the contest in California shows Boxer now beating former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina by 10 points 49% to 39%. Four percent (4%) like some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) are not sure how they will vote. In July, Boxer led Fiorina by just four but had a 47% to 38% lead in March....

Carly Fiorina's exploratory GOP Senate run got some love Tuesday from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) -- that's a national party group that decides which races to toss its money to. In a state-of-the-race memo sent to GOP senators Tuesday, Sen John Cornyn praised... "...two strong female candidates -- Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire and Carly Fiorina in California -- continue to seriously consider bids of their own, and both poll closely with their respective Democrat opponents without having formally entered their races." But you gotta love the response from Carla's potential rival, Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore: "I...

It's been a bumpy ride for Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard who's planning to run against Barbara Boxer for her Senate seat in California. First there were questions about whether a company she claimed to run actually existed; then there were issues about her voting record -- or lack thereof -- and now it's emerged that under her leadership and despite a trade embargo, HP somehow found a way to sell a lot of printers and other tech gear in Iran. Of course, Fiorina's campaign (now accustomed to damage control) insists that everything was utterly above-board, and it...

SACRAMENTO — Over the past dozen years, Hewlett-Packard has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of printers and other products to Iran through a Middle East distributor, sidestepping a U.S. ban on trade with the country. Now the person who headed HP for much of that time, Carly Fiorina, is ramping up to run for U.S. Senate. And questions are emerging about what Fiorina knew about HP's growing presence in Iran during her six-year tenure at the Silicon Valley firm from 1999 to 2005. With Iran drawing condemnation abroad for its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons and crackdown on...

How do you run for California's top political offices when you often have failed to vote yourself and have no political experience? Some big names in the GOP have rallied behind former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as she eyes a run against Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman as she prepares to run for governor. They see attractive candidates with high name identification, impressive personal resumes and deep pockets. But both former CEOs have a boardroom-sized problem: They have shoddy voting records. Fiorina has voted in about one in four elections since she registered as a...

Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett- Packard, took her first formal step Tuesday toward a campaign for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate. Fiorina, who would face Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine in the Republican primary in June, announced that she had filed papers with the Internal Revenue Service to start exploring a candidacy. "The people of California have serious concerns about job creation, economic growth and the role of government in solving problems that touch each of our lives," Fiorina said in a written statement.

DeVore taking off gloves on Fiorina: "Remind Carly to get an absentee ballot" Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine -- who's running against Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer -- has taken off the gloves on his GOP challenger, Carly Fiorina, telling us today that he's not even sure she would "vote in her own primary with her name on the ballot.'' (snip) Fiorina moved closer to a U.S. Senate bid by forming a committee, "Carly for California" this week, though her official Fiorina Enteprises website hints at what may be her coming campaign theme: "Tough Choices. Inspired Commitment. Real Results.'' (snip) Read...

Former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive Carly Fiorina has taken the first formal step toward running for the U.S. Senate seat of Democrat Barbara Boxer. Fiorina filed for a tax identification number on Tuesday and registered a campaign committee named "Carly for California." The committee will allow her to begin raising money for a potential 2010 run for the Republican nomination. Spokeswoman Beth Miller says the 54-year-old Fiorina, who stumped for Sen. John McCain during his presidential run, will begin meeting with policy advisers and donors but has no timetable for making a formal announcement. If she runs, Fiorina would face...

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore Comments on Carly Fiorina’s Pending Run for the U.S. Senate: “Democrats will attack Fiorina’s weaknesses from the start.” IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), the only announced Republican candidate for California’s 2010 U.S. Senate race against Barbara Boxer, today commented on news that Carly Fiorina, the ousted former head of Hewlett-Packard, had formally created an exploratory committee. Assemblyman DeVore said, “She’s in, as we’ve expected for months, and already she’s showing her colors, hiring a Hollywood PR firm and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chief moneyman.” Fiorina has already engaged Strategic Perception, Inc., the Hollywood, CA-based business that was the...

A Golden State Opportunity? Chuck DeVore, a California assemblyman seeking to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer in the 2010 U.S. Senate race, on Thursday blasted his potential rival for the Republican nomination, Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, as a "dilettante" and "rich moderate" who couldn't win statewide. He also contended that Boxer was vulnerable in a general election due to her high negatives and rising unemployment. "Never in California's history has a self-funded dilettante ever won any top office, Governor or Senate," the candidate said this morning at a breakfast sponsored by TAS and Americans for Tax Reform, when asked about...

Democrat Barbara Boxer's quest for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate may give Californians a chance to pass judgment on Washington in the Obama era: Do voters approve of the early performance of the Democratic president and Congress? Or is it time to restore more power to Republicans, in this case to a controversial former Silicon Valley CEO making her first run for elective office? What looks increasingly likely is that Boxer will be in for the re-election fight of her career. While she has yet to announce her candidacy, all signs point to a run by Republican Carly...

......... while Boxer's popularity swings with the tides and rarely reaches beyond the magic 50% level. Every six years, Republicans believe that with just the right candidate and just the right amount of money, they can knock off the woman they love to hate. And they are heartened again by a new poll showing Boxer barely leading the most likely 2010 challenger, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

Boxer shaky again as campaign looms Dan Walters Aug. 10, 2009 California's U.S. senators tend to fall into two categories – headline-grabbers and dependable workhorses for the state's interests. For the past 17 years, the state's two senators have been Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Both elected during the much-heralded "year of the woman," they have followed the state's time-honored pattern. Boxer draws media attention with her quixotic political forays, often involving some left-of-center cause having nothing to do with California, while Feinstein is the go-to person for the state's economic and political interests. It explains why voter polls consistently...

California's U.S. senators tend to fall into two categories – headline-grabbers and dependable workhorses for the state's interests. For the past 17 years, the state's two senators have been Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Both elected during the much-heralded "year of the woman," they have followed the state's time-honored pattern. Boxer draws media attention with her quixotic political forays, often involving some left-of-center cause having nothing to do with California, while Feinstein is the go-to person for the state's economic and political interests. It explains why voter polls consistently find that Feinstein is among the state's highest-rated political figures while...

Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina got a boost today from GOP national leadership regarding her possible 2010 bid against incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer -- a move Fiorina appears ever closer to making. It came this morning when Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, met with reporters for a briefing at the Ronald Reagan Republican Center in D.C., where he appeared eager to pump up the Fiorina candidacy, speaking of it as virtual given. "(Carly) Fiorina...even before she announces her candidacy she is within four points in a Rasmussen poll against Barbara Boxer,'' he...

July 25, FoxNews Fresh Off Controversy, Sen. Boxer Faces Potentially Tough Challenge From Carly Fiorina Carly Fiorina hasn't said yet whether she'll throw her hat in the ring against Sen. Barbara Boxer for the California Democrat's Senate seat next year but a new poll shows she's tightening the incumbent's lead in a potential race. Sen. Barbara Boxer, who has taken heat in recent months for clashes at Senate hearings, is facing a potentially tough election challenge from prominent businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who is within striking distance in a recent poll. Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard CEO and top economic adviser to...

The latest Rasmussen Reports poll shows Senator Barbara Boxer leading her relatively unknown opponent, former Hewlett-Packer Hewlett-Packard (you'd think I'd have looked at my printer 20 inches away . . .) CEO Carly Fiorina, by only four points, 45%-41%. Boxer has never been terribly popular in the Golden State, but given the conditions Democrats have enjoyed the past few years, it is surprising to see her in Elizabeth Dole 2007 territory (though in a much more Democratic state). Poll after poll shows incumbents once thought to be safe in pretty dangerous territory. These are the dangers of being in charge...

Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer leads former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in an early look at California’s 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that Boxer attracts 45% of the statewide vote while Fiorina, her best-known possible Republican challenger, earns 41%. Seven percent (7%) say they’d vote for some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. In March, Boxer led Fiorina by nine, 47% to 38%. Any incumbent who polls below 50% early in a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable. However, a Democrat running in a heavily Democratic state like California is often able...

Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer leads former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in an early look at California’s 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that Boxer attracts 45% of the statewide vote while Fiorina, her best-known possible Republican challenger, earns 41%. Seven percent (7%) say they’d vote for some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. In March, Boxer led Fiorina by nine, 47% to 38%. Any incumbent who polls below 50% early in a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable. However, a Democrat running in a heavily Democratic state like California is often able...

Carly Fiorina, whose rocky tenure as chief executive of Hewlett Packard ended with her firing, is making serious preparations to run next year for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Fiorina's candidacy would be her first foray into elective politics and would turn California's Senate contest into one of the most closely watched in 2010.