Carly Fiorina has won the Republican nomination for the Senate race to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) this fall. Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard executive, bested two opponents in one of the most hotly contested primaries this cycle.
The Associated Press and Fox News have called Fiorina as the winner, with 12 percent of precincts reporting. Fiorina had 58% while former Rep. Tom Campbell had 23% and tea party and conservative favorite Chuck DeVore had 17%. Like Meg Whitman, the former eBay chief executive who won the Republican nomination for governor tonight, Fiorina’s only political experience has been serving as an adviser to Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid.
The primary was marked by demon sheep and battles over immigration policy. Fiorina was boosted in recent weeks after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin jumped in with an endorsement.
Democrats say they will use Fiorina’s often rocky tenure at HP during the general election campaign. They aren’t thrilled to face a candidate who can bankroll much of her own candidacy, since Fiorina loaned herself $3.6 million and there’s more where that came from.
However, Boxer has amassed a large campaign war chest of $9.7 million as of May 19 thanks in part to visits from President Obama this spring. Fiorina had just $620,000 in the bank as of May 19 thanks to the brutal primary.
As you can see by looking at the TPM Poll Average, Fiorina’s is a come-from-behind victory.
The TPM Poll Average of the general election has Boxer beating Fiorina 45.3%-39.6%.
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