Boxer ahead in California Senate race

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has an 8-point lead over Republican challenger Carly Fiorina in California's U.S. Senate race, a poll shows.

With just four days to go until the midterm elections, Boxer led Fiorina 49 percent to 41 percent in a Field Poll, which also showed her getting strong support from independent voters, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

A Rasmussen poll Thursday showed Boxer up by 3 percentage points, and it tracks with a half-dozen other surveys showing Boxer in the lead, the report said.

The polls show Fiorina, 56, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive officer, has an uphill battle to unseat Boxer, who is seeking her fourth term.

Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo called Boxer's lead "comfortable," and said it is the widest lead she's had since similar polls in the spring and summer.

Just a few days ago, analysts said the race was a toss-up, despite California's reputation as a Democratic stronghold, the report said.

The Field Poll was conducted Oct. 14-26 among 1,501 registered voters, including 1,092 likely voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.