News

Thursday May 27, 2010


Pro-Life Carly Fiorina Now Ahead in GOP Battle for Cal. Senate Nomination

By Peter J. Smith

SACRAMENTO, California, May 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With less than two weeks remaining before the Republican primary, pro-life businesswoman Carly Fiorina has managed to take the lead in a three-way primary over a pro-abortion rival and a pro-life “tea party” candidate in California.

Recent polls show Fiorina surging ahead in the primary set for June 8. The winner of the three-way GOP battle royal will then challenge pro-abortion California Democratic senator Barbara Boxer, a three-term incumbent, in November.

Survey USA poll shows that Fiorina has doubled her number of GOP supporters in the race, from 24 percent, to capture the lead with 46 percent. Survey USA interviewed 612 likely GOP voters between May 21 – 23.

Among pro-life GOP voters, Fiorina has a particularly strong hold. Forty-eight percent say they would vote for Fiorina, while just 16 percent say they would vote for the other pro-life candidate, Chuck DeVore.

In fact, Tom Campbell, the third candidate, who is pro-abortion, polled stronger than DeVore amongst pro-lifers, with 20 percent of those identifying themselves as “pro-life” saying they would vote for him.

However, interesting to note was that the poll found that self-identified “pro-choice” GOP voters support Fiorina over Campell, 44 percent to 27 percent.

While Fiorina has managed to double her lead from two weeks ago, DeVore has been unable to make headway: edging up only one percent from the Survey USA poll taken May 6 – 9.

Another poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP) released Tuesday also shows Fiorina having surged into the lead with 41 percent, with Tom Campbell now taking second place at 21 percent, and Chuck DeVore still stuck in third at 16 percent.

The poll found that among self-identified conservatives, Fiorina has a strong edge, with 47 percent of GOP conservatives supporting her, while 19 percent support DeVore, and 15 percent support Campbell.

PPP surveyed 417 likely California Republican primary voters between May 21 and May 23, and their poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent.

PPP also found that Fiorina is now polling over both Campbell and Devore as having a better chance at beating Boxer. Boxer has a plus 3 percentage spread over Fiorina, but she leads Campbell and DeVore by seven and six percentage points, respectively.

Fiorina and DeVore are both pro-life candidates, with the difference that DeVore actually has a pro-life record from his service in the California legislature. Fiorina is a former Hewlett Packard executive, who says that her convictions are pro-life.

Although DeVore is the favorite of “Tea Party” groups and endorsed by conservative Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, he has largely failed to get grassroots support from pro-life organizations in California.

Fiorina has also managed to rack up some hefty endorsements, while also having gained the support of state pro-life groups. DeVore took a big hit when former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin threw her support behind Fiorina in early May.

The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List endorsed Fiorina over DeVore as the better pro-life candidate to win the election, and has poured $215,000 into her campaign in order to educate 600,000 GOP voters and secure her election.

Campaign funding has made a big difference in the race. Fiorina has so far lent $3.6 million of her own money to her campaign – with $1.1 million dedicated for the final push to the primary – according to the Associated Press.

DeVore, on the other hand, has struggled to gather enough funds to put campaign ads on television, leading to further doubts about his viability as a candidate to take on Boxer’s veteran political machine.


See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Pro-Life Candidates Duking it Out for Endorsements in Hotly-Contested California Senate Republican Primary

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10050706.html