1992, the year of the woman, saw democrats Barbara Boxer, Carol Moseley-Braun, and Patty Murray elected to the Senate. Six years later, all three women are up for re-election and running in very tight races.
The press has been flooded with stories on the Clinton scandal, leaving little room to cover candidates and their issues in this fall’s election. “This campaign in many ways is a very surreal campaign. Nobody, or almost nobody, is focusing on the issues. . .so I’ve got to do it myself,” Boxer commented.
Moseley-Braun and Murray will also face difficult races in November. Murray still holds a small margin over conservative Republican opponent, Rep. Linda Smith in Washington state. However, she has had unfavorable job ratings recently, and a fifth of area voters remain undecided.
In Illinois, Mosely-Braun lost 10 points in the latest polls, attributed to negative allegations. Another setback came Sunday when the Chicago Tribune endorsed her Republican opponent, State Sen. Peter Fizgerald.
Boxer continues to run a close race in California against Republican Matt Fong. Currently polls show Fong leading 48 percent to 44 percent with 8 percent left undecided.
Boxer, Murray, and Moseley-Braun need the support of women in order to beat out their popular opponents next month.
As it stands, Republicans need just five more seats to form a stonewall majority in the Senate. The loss of Boxer, Murray, and Moseley-Braun would provide three.
