Fiorina to face Sen. Boxer in California

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina won the California Republican Senate primary Tuesday, defeating former Rep. Tom Campbell and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

Fiorina, a staunch ally of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was declared the
winner by the Associated Press with 2,548 of 22,896 precincts reporting.
Fiorina topped Campbell 54-26 percent, while DeVore came in third at 17
percent.

Fiorina said she was “honored” to be the nominee to face Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

“For
34 years, at the taxpayer’s expense, Barbara Boxer has been a bitter
partisan who has said much but achieved little,” Fiorina said in a
statement. “She gets an ‘A’ for politics and an ‘F’ for achievement.
This fall, she will have to answer to the people of California for her
failure to stand up for our state.”

Boxer’s campaign tweeted shortly after the race was called: “AP has called the race for Fiorina. OK- let’s go win this thing.”

Democratic strategists are confident Boxer will be able to defend
her seat, despite the anti-incumbent mood simmering across the country.

The primary was tougher than expected on Fiorina because
Campbell switched over from the gubernatorial race. That leaves her
with baggage coming into the general election, according to the Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee.

“Faced
with
a competitive primary, Carly Fiorina did what Republicans across the
country are doing: moved to the extremist wing of their party,” Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), chairman of the DSCC, said in a statement. “She is
against a woman’s right to choose, supports the Arizona immigration law,
wants to repeal health care, and supports allowing people on the
“no-fly” list to buy guns.”

— This post was updated at 12:29 a.m.