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New financial fuel in California Senate raceBEVERLY HILLS, California (AllPolitics, October 20) -- Republicans are pouring money into the California Senate race in the hopes of finishing off Sen. Barbara Boxer, considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic lawmakers. Boxer has called this the "race of her life." Her opponent is California State Treasurer Matt Fong. He has been termed "the Republican Al Gore" and has been described at least once as "woodish, wonkish and balding."
"Now, why'd they have to do that? I'm not balding, I'm receding," Fong joked. His hair may be on the wane, but his campaign fund is on the rise these days. It just received an infusion of cash to the tune of $800,000 from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee. GOP strategists have marked Boxer as a prime target in their quest to pick up five seats and achieve a filibuster-proof Republican majority -- 60 seats -- in the Senate. Boxer and Fong are in a statistical dead heat in the polls. Fong plans to use his new money to produce a flurry of eleventh-hour TV ads to sell voters on the differences between himself and Boxer. Boxer's camp says the senator would welcome a debate on the issues. "These are ... issues where Matt Fong is wildly out of step with most of California, so he is playing right into our hands," Boxer spokesman Roy Behr told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Fong says he is the moderate, big on military and defense issues, not so big on taxes. "The IRS code is ten thousand pages; it's way too long, way too complex," said Fong. Both issues will play big in his new ads. At a recent fund-raiser, Fong criticized Boxer's opposition to a missile defense system. "Barbara Boxer is not willing to spend any money to protect us," he said. "Barbara Boxer has her head in the sand." But his Democratic opponent says she wants to focus on issues that will protect Americans young and old. "Education, the environment, Social Security, Medicare, a patients' bill of rights, a woman's right to choose," said Boxer, outlining some of the items on her agenda. Boxer and the Democratic Party have produced ads highly critical of Fong, including one that attacks his position on patient lawsuits against health maintenance organizations. Fong, a Chinese-American, says the ad uses racial overtones when it refers to "foreign diplomats" and juxtaposes that reference with an image of Fong's face. Both candidates are counting on Asian voters. "I have enjoyed the support of the Asian-American community for so many years," said Boxer at one rally. Support from that sector of voters is considered crucial during a tight race like this one. But in the June primary, Fong won three out of four Asian votes. Analysts say some voters just don't like Boxer. But she does have the advantage of incumbency. "I think because the economy is so good, not just here in California, but throughout the country, I would think that Boxer would have an edge," said Sheldon Kamieniecki, chairman of the political science department at the University of Southern California. But President Bill Clinton's problems haven't exactly helped Boxer. Her daughter is married to Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother. And Boxer was widely criticized for her muted, and according to some, belated criticism of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Boxer, however, says the White House sex scandal is not a priority with her supporters. She says they want to move on with the issues. Some California Democrats say privately that Boxer's position has improved, but they worry about what will happen if Fong goes on the attack with his new GOP money. Fong notes that Boxer outspent her 1992 opponent 3-to-1. "She's not going to be able to do that this time," Fong said. CNN's Anne McDermott and The Associated Press contributed to this report.MORE STORIES:Tuesday, October 20, 1998
• Clinton to watch Glenn blastoff • Military officers risk discipline if they criticize Clinton • Podesta named White House Chief of Staff • Georgia legislator, son of civil rights leader, indicted • Jones asks to have case against Clinton reinstated • Ken Starr's wife speaks out • Survey finds American optimism high • McCurry: Clinton 'stupid' in personal life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
