A new Los Angeles Times poll finds a tie in the California Republican Senate primary, with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and state Rep. Chuck DeVore at 27% each, for the right to go up against Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
A whopping 40% of Republican primary voters were undecided, plus 4% who refused to answer and 2% who said they preferred another candidate. The take-away from this poll is that both candidates have a long way to go in building up their respective name identifications.
Expect both candidates to tout the big-name conservatives who are supporting them. DeVore is running an antiestablishment campaign, and has the endorsement of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Fiorina has the backing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — for whom Fiorina had been a campaign surrogate during the 2008 presidential election – as well as the conservative hero Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). (The NRSC itself is not backing Fiorina, but the endorsement of the top leaders in the caucus is a pretty strong statement.)
