Fiorina walks a tightrope in Senate bid

In the weeks since Carly Fiorina announced her run for a California Senate seat, the former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive has been working to convince conservatives that she is one of them.

She signed a pledge opposing any increase in income taxes, blasted the spending in the proposed health care overhaul, took up the cause of farmers who want relief from government-imposed water restrictions and has aimed a steady volley of shots at the record of Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, whose seat Mrs. Fiorina hopes to take next year.

But in doing so, Mrs. Fiorina is walking a political tightrope that has proved the downfall of many Republicans before her.

The dilemma is how Republican candidates can make it through a party primary dominated by conservative firebrands without alienating the centrist voters they’ll need to win a general election. In Mrs. Fiorina’s case, the problem is especially challenging: As someone who has never before held public office, she must convince Republican primary voters that she can be trusted to uphold their principles without turning off moderate Democrats and independents.

Mrs. Fiorina’s Republican opponent, state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine, is trying to cast the party primary as a contest between a tried-and-true free-market conservative and a wild-card moderate with no political track record. He maintains that staying true to his beliefs also will play well in the general election.

“We didn’t lose elections because we were being too conservative and being true to our principles,” Mr. DeVore said.

Jon Fleischman, an influential Republican blogger in California, said some DeVore supporters will try to portray Mrs. Fiorina as the California version of Dede Scozzafava, the moderate Republican who was forced out of a congressional race by a conservative insurgent candidate in upstate New York this month.

The split on the right enabled the Democratic candidate to win the House seat.

Despite their bluster, conservatives like those who pounced on Mrs. Scozzafava’s support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage have not fared well in statewide elections in California.

Republican Bill Simon couldn’t stop Gov. Gray Davis’ re-election in 2002. Two years later, Mrs. Boxer defeated former Secretary of State Bill Jones, who couldn’t even raise enough money to run a television campaign. Rep. Tom McClintock, a former state lawmaker who is a favorite of conservatives, has been defeated in several tries for statewide office.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is regarded as a moderate, and his tenure actually may be working against Mrs. Fiorina, several Republican activists said.

They have felt betrayed by the governor, saying he has compromised conservative principles by embracing tax increases, universal health coverage and legislation to fight global warming that they say imposes massive regulatory burdens on businesses.

Mr. Fleischman said he came away from an interview with Mrs. Fiorina thinking they agreed on many issues, such as opposition to abortion and the growing role of the federal government. Mrs. Fiorina opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is endangered. Her campaign says she believes marriage is between a man and a woman but that she also supports domestic partnerships.

“I don’t think there’s any way Carly Fiorina out-conservatives Chuck DeVore, but I don’t think that’s her goal,” Mr. Fleischman said. “The real question is: Is Carly Fiorina a conservative? And based on my sit-downs with her so far, I think she probably is.”

The social issues that rose to prominence in the New York race are not likely to play a large role in the California Republican primary. Instead, Mr. DeVore said he will challenge Mrs. Fiorina on economic policies, specifically her views on issues he opposed outright: the Wall Street bailout, the Obama administration’s stimulus spending program, taxing sales made on the Internet and cap-and-trade programs intended to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

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