Jones Faces an Uphill Fundraising Battle in His Effort to Unseat Boxer

Jones Faces an Uphill Fundraising Battle in His Effort to Unseat Boxer
GOP challenger badly lags the incumbent in money and in the polls, which could make powerful backers look at other Senate races.

By Scott Martelle, Times staff writer

With six months to go before the November election, Senate candidate Bill Jones faces a daunting challenge in proving to fellow Republicans that he can unseat Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer — a chicken-or-egg conundrum that could determine whether Jones can raise the $15 million or more that many analysts believe it will take to win.

Jones' dilemma is that to attract money he must be perceived as a contender. And to be a contender he has to have money.

A Los Angeles Times poll conducted in April found Boxer with a comfortable 20-point lead among eligible voters and an overall 54% favorable rating: 82% among Democrats, 53% among independents and an anemic 24% among Republicans.

Jones was a relative stranger even among fellow Republicans, with 43% saying they didn't know enough about the former two-term secretary of state to decide whether they liked him. He left office in 2002 because of term limits.

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