A BIG WEEK

October 28, 1998
	John Wildermuth, political reporter for the San Francsico Chronicle, reports on Senator Boxer's "big week" and Matt Fong's donation trouble.

Online NewsHour Special Report: Election '98 Return to the California index. Oct. 21, 1998: Political scientists Carl Luna and Joe McKenzie on the Road to the Middle. Oct. 20, 1998: John Wildermuth analyzes last week's debate. Oct. 14, 1998: Luna and McKenzie on what the Senate race says about the Golden State. Oct. 13, 1998: John Wildermuth provides analysis from California. Oct. 12, 1998: Jeffrey Kaye reports on the U.S. Senate race in California.     Articles by John Wildermuth from the San Francisco Chronicle Oct. 28, 1998: Gays, Right Snub Fong's Unity Tactic Oct. 27, 1998: Fong Signs Contract On Gay Rights Oct. 26, 1998: Fong Rips Boxer, Defends Donation	SAN FRANCISCO: It's been a big week for incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, who needed it after watching GOP state Treasurer Matt Fong move into the favorite's role in recent weeks. A new Los Angeles Times poll gave her a 49 percent to 44 percent lead in her re-election battle, reversing the 5-point lead Fong had in the same poll a month ago and other polls had her even farther ahead.
	Boxer regains the lead.
	Much of the credit belongs to a series of hard-hitting television ads Boxer has put out, challenging Fong's opposition to abortion, gun control and tough environmental regulations. A two-day visit from President Clinton last weekend raised almost $2 million more for Boxer, giving her the money she needs to saturate the airwaves with attacks on Fong. But Boxer, a standout campaigner, also has been crisscrossing the state in an effort to rally her supporters. Fong had troubles of his own. Besides watching his polls skid, he also managed to get into a nasty fight over a $50,000 donation he gave to the Traditional Values Coalition, an ultra-conservative religious group opposed to abortion, gay rights, sex education and the teaching of evolution in public schools. The contribution, which came from money left over from Fong's 1994 treasurer's race, was used only for a poll in an initiative drive that would have banned same-sex marriages in California, Fong said, but the controversy over the religious right group threatened to dent his carefully sculpted image as a moderate alternative to Boxer. In an effort to stop the political bleeding, Fong signed a unique written agreement with the gay-oriented Log Cabin Republicans, pledging to either maintain or increase funding for AIDS, back a measure that would include sexual orientation as a basis for non-discrimination in hiring and support a variety of domestic partner issues, all important measures for the state's gay community. The news wasn't all bad for Fong. He received the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle, the three biggest newspapers in the state, and raised nearly $1 million in contributions last week. --John Wildermuth