U.S. News: Underdog in GOP Race Counts on California Conservatism
LA HABRA, Calif. -- In the Republican race to take on Democratic U.S. Sen Barbara Boxer next year, underdog Chuck DeVore lacks the star power of GOP rival Carly Fiorina, but what he does have going for him are impeccable conservative credentials.</br></br>Mr. DeVore, a California assemblyman, is a hawk on everything from taxes to spending to abortion rights. He received the top conservative score of 100 last month by a citizens' group called the California Republican Assembly, which rates state legislators.</br></br>"If we don't stop the trillion-dollar deficits in their tracks, we'll be enslaving our children to higher taxes," Mr. DeVore told about 30 members of a Republican Women Federated chapter on a recent campaign stop in this Orange County, Calif., city.</br></br>Ms. Fiorina, for her part, wasn't ranked by the conservative group, but the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. is widely regarded as a moderate.</br></br>Mr. DeVore's chief selling point as a staunch conservative may sound like a drawback in a heavily Democratic state, but Republicans in California need the right flank, which comprises much of the party's base here. Combined with the populist anger nationwide over the overhaul of health care and other liberal issues, Mr. DeVore's strategy of emphasizing his conservative bent could succeed in the Republican primary in June, said some political analysts.