California’s Barbara Boxer Responds to Slip in Polls to Fiorina With Abortion Ad
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 13, 2010
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) — A new poll in the California Senate race shows pro-life candidate Carly Fiorina has increased her lead over pro-abortion incumbent Barbara Boxer to five percentage points. Not content with the results, Boxer has released a new Internet ad that bashes Fiorina on abortion.
The new CBS 5 KPIX-TV poll released Thursday has Fiorina leading Boxer 47-42 percent with the rest undecided or favoring a minor party candidate.
The poll also noted that Fiorina’s support is essentially unchanged among men and women, young and old voters, and white and Hispanic voters while Boxer has lost a bit of ground with men, younger voters, and independents.
Fiorina is capturing 27 percent of the black vote, leads Boxer among independents by 17 percent, and trails with Hispanics by just six points.
Fiorina has also upped her lead in the Central Valley from 7 percent to 21 percent in the latest Survey USA poll.
Just hours after the polling results were released, the Boxer campaign dropped a new 15-second Internet ad blasting Fiorina on abortion — an issues Boxer’s people believe will help her in a state that does not follow the rest of the nation in opposing abortion.
The ad bashes Fiorina for saying, “I absolutely would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade if the opportunity presented itself" in a KTKZ – AM interview in January. It highlights several endorsements Fiorina has received from pro-life groups and pro-life leaders.
San Francisco political writer Joe Garofoli says the abortion ad could be an indication the Boxer campaign believes the election is starting to slip away.
"Now, it’s only a web ad. And Team Boxer can say that they’re confident, they have a lot more cash on hand, etc. But the fact that Boxer is dropping the abortion card before the Labor Day sprint begins may hint at some internal polling that shows this race is going the wrong way for her," he says.
The poll shows Fiorina captures 87 percent of Republicans and 14 percent of Democrats while Boxer retains 73 percent of Democrats and 10 percent of Republicans.
Fiorina also receives 73 percent of the pro-life vote while Boxer, the pro-abortion champion in the Senate, gets 19 percent. Fiorina picks off 28 percent of pro-abortion voters while Boxer has the backing of 59 percent, the new Survey USA poll indicates.
Conservative writer Ed Morrissey of HotAir says pro-life advocates should exercise caution about the latest numbers.
"Survey USA’s a respected pollster but they’re the only ones to show Fiorina with a lead this year. Their last poll had her up two points and a Pajamas Media poll taken in June had the race even, but literally everyone else — including Rasmussen — has Boxer ahead by anywhere from five to nine points," he notes.
Morrissey continues: "So consider these new numbers not so much an answer as a question: Just an outlier, or a leading indicator of a trend in the race? Rasmussen’s last poll did show Fiorina closing in, but only ever so slightly (a two-point gain). Keep this on your radar screen, then, with an eye to confirmation via the next round of polls. Just a little tremor happening in California, or is this the Big One?"
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