BOXER BOXED IN – AT 8:40 A.M. ET:  In recent years California has become a heavily Democratic state.  It's also essentially bankrupt, as are blue state audience favorites like Illinois and my New York.  Hmm.  Any connection with Democratic policies there?  Oh, never mind.

Now, though, a California Dem icon, the intellectually challenged Barbara Boxer, is running into trouble:

(Reuters) - Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer's edge over Republican challenger Carly Fiorina has dwindled to 3 points as she seeks re-election in November, with more Californians now holding an unfavorable view of the three-term senator, a poll released on Thursday showed.

Boxer, who once held a 30-point lead over Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard and a political novice, is now ahead by a margin of only 47 percent to 44 percent, the Field Poll found.

One of President Barack Obama's staunchest allies who has become a powerful liberal voice in the Senate since she was first elected in 1992, Boxer is facing her toughest challenge yet, as a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment sweeps the nation.

California, normally a reliably Democratic state suffering from double-digit unemployment and a budget deficit running into tens of billions of dollars, is considered a potential bellwether in the coming congressional elections.

The Field Poll found that since January more Californians have become disgruntled with Boxer, with 52 percent of likely voters holding an unfavorable view of her, compared with just 41 percent who regard her favorably.

COMMENT:  We will cheer on Carly.  But a note of caution:  The Dems will play the fear game, which may have quite an impact on California's minority communities.  It is still very much an uphill battle for Republicans.  Wait 'til the whispers start, linking Fiorina to tea party "racism" or Arizona's illegal-immigration law.

In the California gubernatorial race, Republican Meg Whitman is deadlocked with Democratic former Governor Jerry Brown. 

You'll see plenty of Obama in California this fall.  Don't count out his impact, deceptive as it is.

July 9, 2010