Burbank, California (CNN) – Sarah Palin recorded a robocall that went out to voters in the last few days on behalf of California Republican Senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina, a spokeswoman for Fiorina's campaign confirms to CNN. In the call Palin said she wants to "….help get our country back on track" by supporting Fiorina.
Palin's endorsement of Fiorina last month had irked some Tea Party activists in the state who backed state assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Fiorina has been attending some Tea Party meetings in the last few weeks trying to build up her support among that group.
In a speech to the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List last month Palin defended her endorsement. "Some wanting to accuse her of being a RINO (Republican In Name Only), I say no, no. There in the deep blue California, she is unabashedly pro-life, and all those other common sense conservative things that she stands for. She's the real deal. And I appreciate you, too, being bold enough and strong enough to take a stand in that race and to take a stand in so many of these races across the country," Palin said.
DeVore's campaign reacted to the call said "Chuck DeVore doesn't do robocalls, given his opposition to things are, well, illegal. A pity Carly Fiorina doesn't feel the same way. But then, she usually doesn't."
Fiorina campaign spokeswoman Amy Thoma told CNN the Palin call is legal because it is involving a federal race-not a state one which does not allow such calls.
Los Angeles (CNN) - With three days to go until California's primary, a second straight survey indicates that former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is the front runner in the battle for the Republican Senate nomination.
According to a Field Poll released Saturday, 37 percent of likely GOP primary voters back Fiorina, with 22 percent supporting former Rep. Tom Campbell and 19 percent pulling for state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, with one in five undecided.
Fiorina also held a 15 point advantage over Campbell in a USC/Los Angeles Times survey released a week ago.
Many polls conducted earlier this year indicated that Campbell was leading the battle for the Republican nomination. Although he's in third place, the most recent surveys suggest that DeVore, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, has doubled his support since March.
The winner will face off in November against three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Forty-two percent of those questioned in the Field Poll say Fiorina has the best chance of defeating Boxer in the general election, with 22 percent saying Campbell is the best candidate to beat Boxer, and 12 percent indicating DeVore would be the strongest GOP nominee to take on Boxer.
The Field Poll was conducted May 27-June 2, with 511 likely California Republican primary voters questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn
(CNN) – A prominent conservative is issuing an ultimatum, essentially telling the candidate he supports to do better in the polls – or lose his support.
Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState.com, backs Assemblyman Chuck DeVore in the California Republican senate primary. DeVore is locked in a battle with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former Rep. Tom Campbell for the right to face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November.
Speaking Tuesday with CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, Erickson – a CNN contributor - said he won't support DeVore much longer if the candidate does not improve his political standing.
"Look, if Chuck DeVore hasn't gone up in the polls within two weeks significantly, I'll be with Carly Fiorina because Tom Campbell is that bad," Erickson said.
DeVore is considered the more conservative of the three candidates. But Campbell has maintained a steady lead over his opponents in recent polls even as both DeVore and Fiorina attack him as too liberal.
"There are a lot of Republicans who feel like Chuck Devore, with four weeks left, hasn't been able to surge," Erickson said on CNN's John King, USA. "And it's everybody, anybody but Campbell."
Washington (CNN) – Sarah Palin broke ranks with the conservative movement on Thursday and endorsed former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in California's Republican Senate primary, prompting a flurry of criticism from many of her loyal supporters.
After Palin announced the endorsement on her Facebook page, a number of her followers questioned why she would side with Fiorina instead of the more conservative candidate in the race, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.
DeVore has the backing of several leading voices in the conservative movement, including Sen. Jim DeMint, RedState.com editor Erick Erickson and the Tea Party Express.
Though a handful of readers agreed with Palin's decision, most were upset.
"This is very, very disappointing," Rick Sheridan, one of her supporters, posted on Palin's page. "Sarah, you've got to be more careful. This woman does not represent conservative values. And the choice is so clear. Serious damage to your base here."
Washington (CNN) – Sarah Palin broke ranks with the conservative movement on Thursday and endorsed former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in California's Republican Senate primary, prompting a flurry of criticism from many of her loyal supporters.
After Palin announced the endorsement on her Facebook page, a number of her followers questioned why she would side with Fiorina instead of the more conservative candidate in the race, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.
DeVore has the backing of several leading voices in the conservative movement, including Sen. Jim DeMint, RedState.com editor Erick Erickson and the Tea Party Express.
Though a handful of readers agreed with Palin's decision, most were upset.
"This is very, very disappointing," Rick Sheridan, one of her supporters, posted on Palin's page. "Sarah, you've got to be more careful. This woman does not represent conservative values. And the choice is so clear. Serious damage to your base here."
Washington (CNN) - California politicos just can't seem to get their fill of mutton.
Following in the footsteps of Republican Carly Fiorina's Senate campaign, the California Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have released a "demon sheep" Web video of their own.
In February, Fiorina released a quirky Web video accusing fellow Republican Rep. Tom Campbell of being a fiscal liberal – a jab that took the form of an ominous three-minute clip depicting gathering storm clouds and evil-looking livestock.
Fast forward three months and the tables have turned on Fiorina with the release of "Demon Sheep II," a faux movie trailer complete with plenty of red-eyed sheep and a narrator that says in a booming voice: "Carly has been very, very B-A-A-A-A-A-A-D."
The video, subtitled "The Fleecing of California," mainly targets Fiorina, but also mentions her fellow Republican candidates Tom Campbell and Chuck DeVore.
Washington (CNN) – California Senate candidate Chuck DeVore has "severed all ties" with Erik Brown, the political consultant who billed the Republican National Committee nearly $2,000 for a visit to a risque Los Angeles nightclub in February.
Monday's revelation of the expenditure forced the RNC and its chairman, Michael Steele, to launch an investigation into why the RNC financed a night out at the trendy West Hollywood nightclub, where scantily clad dancers can be seen mimicking sex acts on stage.
An RNC spokesman called the spending unacceptable and said Brown will be returning the money to the committee.
CNN reported Monday that Brown had also done consulting work for Republicans including DeVore and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in California.
DeVore spokesman Joshua Trevino described the campaign's relationship with Brown's firm, Dynamic Marketing, Inc., as "brief and straightforward."
"We had them print some campaign letterhead, trifold signs, and stickers," Trevino said in a statement. "That engagement ended some weeks ago when we contracted with a different printer, and will not resume.
"This is a non-story in itself, but as Chuck DeVore is being noted in some media outlets as a Brown client, it's important to provide proper context for the relationship, and to publicly state that there is no present relationship with DMI," Trevino added.
(CNN) - A national Tea Party group is taking sides in the battle for the Republican Senate nomination in California.
The Tea Party Express will endorse California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore Saturday, a spokesman for the group confirms to CNN. The endorsement is expected to happen at a rally headlined by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The event, in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight, Nevada, will kick off the organization's third cross country caravan, which is expected to culminate with a march on Washington by multiple Tea Party groups on tax day, April 15.
Tea Party Express was one of a number of Tea Party groups that helped financially support Republican Scott Brown in his upset victory in January's special senate election in Massachusetts for the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Washington (CNN) - Two conservative candidates for statewide office in California came to the nation's capital on Friday to take aim at their state, which they said is suffocating in taxes and regulation, and to hold themselves out as its saviors.
“We are the laboratory of every horrific government lab experiment in America,” Chuck DeVore thundered before a stirred-up audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a three-day event showcasing hard-right ideas and players.
DeVore, a member of the California Assembly, is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
He conjured Ronald Reagan, who he said was an example of the good that California has produced. DeVore also cited what he termed as the bad – Democratic lawmakers Barbara Boxer, who he wants to unseat, and Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker.
FULL POST
(CNN) – In just 24 hours, the three-way Republican Senate primary in California has descended into a squabble over bloated budgets, "demon sheep" and now ... mutton.
The latest jab comes courtesy of Tom Campbell - the brainy budget wizard and former Republican congressman doing battle with Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore for the GOP nomination. On Thursday, Campbell finally hit back at Fiorina for her campaign's bizarre new Web video accusing Campbell of being a fiscal liberal - an ominous three minute clip depicting gathering storm clouds and evil-looking livestock.
The video instantly became the subject of Internet mockery when it was posted on Wednesday.
Earlier: DeVore campaign slams Fiorina video
"Carly Fiorina's campaign is in full Mutton Meltdown mode, with an increasingly bizarre fixation on farm animals," Campbell spokesman Jamie Fisfis said in a statement Thursday. "She's admitted missing a decade's worth of opportunities to vote for budget reform, but instead of offering solutions, all she has for voters are dogs, cats and demon-sheep."
Fisfis said that "contrary to Carly Fiorina's insulting portrayal of fiscal conservatives as sheep, these are in fact involved people who engage the issues and ask tough questions. And unlike Carly Fiorina, they have fought alongside Tom Campbell on the front lines of spending reform and supported these reforms with their votes."
UPDATE: The Fiorina campaign argues that the "demon sheep" buzz is only drawing more attention to their message - that Campbell can't be trusted when it comes to taxes and spending.
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