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The 10-point margin even surprised Boxer, who was seen as wildly optimistic
when she predicted a four- or five-point win the day before the election.
But a sweeping victory by Democrat Gray Davis in the governor's race
helped pull Boxer along, increased Democratic majorities in both houses
of the Legislature and gained control of all but two of the state's
eight constitutional offices.
While Boxer called her win "a victory for the issues,'' it showed once
again how important money and advertising are in a state the size of
California. Boxer raised about $15 million for her race and spent about
$9 million of it on an aggressively effective TV ad campaign portraying
the mildly conservative Fong as a right-wing extremist. Fong, who couldn't
match that spending, could only watch as the relentless flood of negative
ads sent voters trooping to Boxer.
Boxer's win also confirmed her reputation as one of the country's most
underrated campaigners. Her 1992 election was viewed as a fluke by Republicans,
who have had her at the top of their hit list for six years. But the
last election the feisty liberal lost was a 1972 run for the Marin County
Board of Supervisors and she kept that record intact with another come-from-behind
win this year.
--John Wildermuth
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