Despite California’s Democratic tilt, Republicans can’t seem to help themselves from putting Sen. Barbara Boxer on their initial list of targeted Democratic incumbents each time she is up for re-election.
The desire to give Boxer a race isn’t quite as foolhardy as it sounds. There are always a few shreds of evidence that she could be vulnerable to the right challenger. Republicans, though, haven’t ever been able to produce that opponent. They are hoping that their recruiting fortunes will change this cycle.
After serving on the Marin County Board of Supervisors and spending a decade in the U.S. House, Boxer ran for the Senate in 1992, the year of the woman. She beat GOP nominee, television commentator Bruce Herschensohn, 48 percent to 43 percent. Republicans put Boxer in their sights again in 1998, but she defeated then-state Treasurer Matt Fong, 53 percent to 43 percent, while outspending him by $3 million. In 2004, Boxer took 58 percent of the vote to 38 percent for former GOP Secretary of State Bill Jones. She did four points better than Democratic presidential nominee
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