Sen. Boxer gets in shape to fight the Terminator

Sen. Barbara Boxer is aggressively raising money in anticipation of a tough 2010 reelection bid that could pit her against the political star-power of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The California Democratic senator reported $3.5 million in cash on hand, compared with just $1 million at a similar point before she won her third term in 2004, according to campaign filings.

{mosads}Her stepped-up fundraising is a sign of what promises to be a far different political climate in 2010, when Democrats will defend more Senate seats — and perhaps the agenda of a president from their party.

“I think it’s also a good thing to send a message to whoever runs that it’s going to be a very hard race for them,” said Boxer, well-known as an anti-war, staunchly pro-abortion rights and outspoken environmentalist, in an interview last week. She noted that she made a “mistake” in past election cycles by waiting too long to raise money.

Her goal this time around is to raise at least $20 million, and she’s well ahead of past campaigns.

In the two-year period before she won her second term in 1998, she racked up $2.1 million, and in the years before she was first elected to the Senate in 1992, she secured a meager $37,000, according to records compiled by the database CQ MoneyLine.

Even if the action-hero-turned-governor stays out of the race, Boxer could face other candidates who could bankroll campaigns from their personal fortunes. According to GOP and Democratic operatives in the state, the Republican short list includes two senior advisers to John McCain’s presidential campaign — Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman — as well as Steve Poizner, the state’s insurance commissioner who in 2000 sold his technology company to Qualcomm for $1 billion.

Boxer could be spared if Fiorina, Whitman or Poizner choose to run for governor in 2010, or if Schwarzenegger receives a position in a new administration. In the meantime, she is trumpeting her fundraising numbers to send a warning that she will be tough to knock off in the next election cycle.

“My concern doesn’t land on any particular individual,” she said. “But I certainly have to be prepared in case Arnold runs, and I certainly have to be prepared in cases where others run who are independently wealthy.”

The senator isn’t relying on money alone to gain an early edge. She’s tapping into star-power on the left, holding fundraisers with singer Bonnie Raitt, folk rocker Jackson Browne and comedian Larry David, the co-creator of “Seinfeld.”

Her campaign is bankrolled by nearly 22,000 individual donors, 82 percent of whom contributed $100 or less. The Hollywood elite has also cut her big checks, including some who have maxed out on the $2,300 contribution limit for the primary and $2,300 for the general election.

The list of donors reads like a stroll along Hollywood Boulevard: $4,600 from Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons”; $4,600 from Richard Donner, director of “Superman” and “Lethal Weapon” movies; $4,600 from Alan Horn, CEO of Warner Bros.; $1,500 from Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co.; and $2,000 from actress Barbra Streisand, according to Federal Election Commission records.

{mospagebreak}Her $3.5 million in cash also includes: $4,200 from actor Danny DeVito; $2,300 from David Geffen, an executive at DreamWorks Studios; $500 from comedian Richard Lewis; $2,000 from Rob Minkoff, “The Lion King” co-director; $4,600 from actress Elizabeth Taylor; $4,600 from Paul Witt, a producer of the movie “Dead Poets Society” and executive producer of the TV show “Golden Girls”; $1,000 from Jerry Zucker, a writer of the “Naked Gun” movies; and $1,000 from Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America.

Boxer plans to continue to make the pitch to Hollywood and throughout the state that she needs funds to compete against rich GOP opponents.

“All of the candidates being mentioned as potential opponents are extremely wealthy individuals who could spend $30 million, $40 million or $50 million on a campaign without breaking a sweat,” said Rose Kapolczynski, Boxer’s California-based political consultant.

{mosads}Unlike this year, with Democrats defending just 12 seats to the Republicans’ 23, the next cycle will have 20 Republican incumbents up versus 14 Democrats. Those include the seats of Sens. McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the two presidential candidates.

Like Boxer, members facing reelection in 2010 are raising more money than ever before, citing the increasing costs of campaigning and uncertain political environment. For instance, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has racked up $3.9 million so far, according to reports filed through June, compared with $1.5 million in the two-year period before his last election in 2004.

“People believe in following the Boy Scout model: Be prepared,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

But if Obama wins the White House, Democrats fear that history could repeat itself, since the party in power typically loses seats in the first midterm of a new administration.

“Whichever side occupies the White House will make it more dangerous for their incumbents in Senate races in 2010,” said Kevin Spillane, a GOP consultant in California.

Spillane says that Boxer has benefited in her previous election cycles from facing under-funded GOP opponents, but that could change with the addition of Schwarzenegger, whose fundraising prowess and universal name recognition would be daunting for the Democrats in two years.

Schwarzenegger, who is term-limited out of office after 2010, has raised $127 million since the recall election of 2003 put him in the governor’s mansion, according to press reports.

But Spillane and other GOP operatives are doubtful that Schwarzenegger would want to be one of 100 senators after running the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Aaron McLear, spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the governor is focused on finishing his term and “hasn’t decided at all” what he will do after 2010.

A McCain campaign spokesman did not respond to inquiries seeking comments on Fiorina and Whitman, and a spokesman for Poizner said his boss is focusing on finishing his job as insurance commissioner. People close to Poizner said he is considering a run for the governorship in 2010.

According to a recent California Field Poll, Boxer has a 48 percent job approval rating, up three points from December and down six points from March 2007. And she is bracing for a tough 2010.

“Every one of my races is hard,” said Boxer, who won in 2004 with 58 percent of the vote.