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Calif. Sen. Boxer finds rocky re-election terrain
Hints of re-election trouble for U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer come from a 65-year-old travel agent from this leafy Los Angeles suburb who's a fellow Democrat.Taxes and the national debt are too high, President Barack Obama has proved a disappointment and the Democratic Party needs new faces, according to Helen Sargent. Boxer, who's seeking a fourth term in Washington this fall, "has been there too long," says Sargent in Westlake Village, which Boxer carried by just 56 votes in 2004. "All politicians have a shelf life." Those are troubling words for Boxer, who won in a 20-point landslide six years ago, but now faces the fight of her political career. The nation's economic woes - particularly intense in hard-hit California - and a difficult electoral year for Democrats have created a rough challenge for the 69-year-old liberal Democrat. In a clear sign of her difficulties, President Barack Obama heads to Los Angeles on Monday to help raise money for Boxer, who is running about even with several potential Republican challengers, an alarming sign in the Democratic-leaning state. The proceeds from twin fundraisers will be split between Boxer and the Democratic National Committee; ticket prices range from $100 for a reception to $17,600 for dinner with the president. Voter frustration and outright anger is widespread in California, where the 12.6 percent unemployment rate tops the national average, home foreclosures have hit record highs and a budget crunch has led to deep cuts in the state's college system. In another Democratic-leaning state - Massachusetts - Republican Scott Brown captured Sen. Edward Kennedy's Senate seat in January. "The times are working against the kind of politician Barbara Boxer is," said Mark DiCamillo of the independent Field Poll. Liberals are associated with the growth of government and "that is really counter to the prevailing mood in the public." Boxer will share a stage with a president whose popularity outshines her own in California, even as his standing in national polls has fallen. Democrats also are quick to point out that the economy is slowly improving and Republicans are tangled up in a messy and expensive primary that could leave the nominee wounded and broke. Boxer faces only token opposition in the June 8 primary. Westlake Village, about 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, is the kind of swing-voting community where statewide elections are often won or lost in California. Republicans hold an edge in registration here but Obama carried the city in 2008, as did Boxer in 2004. Boxer is as beloved by her party's left wing as she is despised by conservatives. Her Republican rivals - state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, businesswoman Carly Fiorina and former Rep. Tom Campbell - have pilloried her relentlessly. Fiorina's campaign calls Boxer "the Bully of the Senate" and has depicted her in an ad as a floating hot air balloon casting ominous shadows over the state. Posted by: Fred 2010-04-18 |
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