Obama To Raise Money For Barbara Boxer

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
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Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) reelection bid is getting a boost from President Obama next Monday. According to the the Boxer campaign, the President will appear at a fundraiser for Boxer in Los Angeles April 19. The visit comes as polls show Boxer could be in trouble in her bid for a fourth term.

Boxer is leading her Republican opponents in a general election matchup, but not by much. The TPM Poll Average for a race between former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and Boxer shows Boxer ahead by a slim margin of 46.0-42.1.

Against the front runner in the June 8 GOP primary race, former Rep. Tom Campbell, the TPM Poll Average shows Boxer’s locked in a dead heat, with Boxer getting 43.7% the vote to Campbell’s 43.3.

Today, Boxer’s campaign announced it raised $2.4 million in the first quarter of 2010 and has just under $9 million cash on hand. That’s not a tiny sum, but Boxer will likely need to do better if she wants to beat back a challenge from the self-funder Fiorina and a state Republican party that will be able to pour millions into the race, assuming that another self-funder, former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman, continues her easy march to the gubernatorial nomination.

A big-dollar fundraiser with Obama could help fill Boxer’s coffers. But more importantly, an appearance with Obama could help raise enthusiasm for her among Californians. A March 14 SurveyUSA poll showed Boxer with just a 40% job approval rating, with 50% saying they disapproved of the way she’s doing her job.

The visit from Obama could serve to boost that number. Though he’s faced declining poll numbers nationwide, Obama remains popular in California, a state he won easily in 2008. The TPM Poll Average shows Obama with a 57.4 approval rating in California.

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