Carly Fiorina to take on Barbara Boxer for US Senate seat
| Los Angeles
Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina鈥檚 entry Wednesday into the Republican primaries for the US Senate seat from California could potentially shake up next year鈥檚 race. Ms. Fiorina used an op-ed in The Orange County Register to formally announce that she is running to be the Republican candidate against Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, who has held the seat since 1992.
How well Fiorina does will depend on a host of factors, say political analysts, from how the economy is doing by election day to whether she survives her formidable opponent in the Republican primary, state Assemblyman Chuck Devore.
Fiorina, who was economic adviser to Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona during his presidential campaign last year, on Wednesday criticized Senator Boxer for doing nothing to stem California鈥檚 job losses.
鈥淏oxer may be in for the political fight of her life,鈥� says Jessica Levinson, political analyst for the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS). 鈥淚f last night鈥檚 election results are any indication, the pendulum may be swinging back in favor of Republicans.鈥�
Fiorina is a relative newcomer to politics with deep pockets, which could work in her favor or against it, Ms. Levinson and others say.
鈥淲hile Fiorina won鈥檛 seem like a Washington insider, and could try to position herself as the breath of fresh air needed to help turn California鈥檚 economy around, voters know little about her, other than that she was first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company and left under less-than-ideal conditions,鈥� says Levinson. 鈥淚n that way, she may seem like a risky choice.鈥�
Another factor will be how well Senator Boxer deals with the kind of opponent she has never had before in a general election: a female opponent and a moderate with money.
鈥淭here are different motivations for women voters now,鈥� says Barbara O鈥機onnor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento. She says both national pollster Gallup and California Field Poll have identified a new voting phenomenon that has replaced last year鈥檚 鈥渟occer mom鈥� 鈥� the 鈥渨orried suburban mom鈥� who, she says, may be hungrier for a politician like Boxer.
鈥淏oxer is much more archetypal of the woman who does it all 鈥� mother, grandmother, community organizer 鈥� and represents one of the liberal bastions of the US Congress,鈥� says Ms. O鈥機onnor.
Boxer is also an indefatigable campaigner and money raiser, O'Connor notes.
But a Boxer/Fiorina matchup is by no means inevitable.
鈥淔iorina is not a sure thing to get the nomination,鈥� says Robert Stern, president of CGS. 鈥淐huck Devore will appeal to the conservative base who will be energized to vote in the primary. While she will outspend Devore, he has the troops. Don鈥檛 underestimate the power of conservatives in a Republican primary.鈥�
"Fiorina鈥檚 chances depend entirely on the political climate next year,鈥� says Tony Quinn, former GOP legislative aide and co-editor of California Target Book.
Her political skill 鈥� or lack thereof 鈥� will likely come into play here, experts say.
鈥淪he will have to work hard to win the nomination, showing the kind of political savvy that was distinctly missing during her unhappy tenure with the McCain campaign, 鈥� says John J. Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College.
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Read more about Carly Fiorina's troubled tenure as CEO of Hewlett Packard.
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