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 Incumbent |  Sen. Barbara Boxer(D) |
| Opponent | Matt Fong(R) |
| Race outlook | Toss Up |
| After trailing for most of the race, Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer took a slight lead over Republican challenger Matt Fong in a new Los Angeles Times poll. Boxer has spent heavily on TV commercials, including one that paints Fong as a tool of the gun lobby. Fong appears to be successfully positioning himself as the moderate in the race, but Boxer has outspent him by 2-1 on TV advertising. For months, Boxer's job approval rating has been below 50 percent, a bad sign for an incumbent. But her approval rating inched up to 51 percent in the Times poll. The national GOP has made Boxer its No. 1 Democratic target in the Senate. |
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Open seat | Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis(D) |
Open seat | Daniel Lungren(R) |
| Race outlook | Toss up |
This is the No. 1 race in the 1998 election. Democratic Lt. Gov. Gray Davis has held a consistent single-digit lead in the polls over the GOP state Attorney General Dan Lungren. Lungren has aggressively portrayed Davis as soft on crime, but the ideological differences between these moderates are small enough to make staking out a clear difference difficult for both men. Davis has warded off Lungren's assault by citing his own crime-fighting record and by wrapping himself in the American flag. The Vietnam veteran's military experience is highlighted in his TV ads and a trio of veterans accompanied Davis at the press conferences that followed his debates with Lungren. The lieutenant governor, who has made relatively few public appearances in recent weeks, appears to waging a cautious campaign aimed at avoiding major mistakes. The election is expected to be close. |
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face=Arial>Open Seat | Mark Luce (R) --age 42 Napa County Supervisor Mike Thompson (D) State Senator Ernest Jones, Jr. (Peace and Freedom) |
Emil Rossi (Libertarian) Social Worker | |
| Outlook | Likely Democrat |
| District Profile; | Northern Coast - Eureka |
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Incumbent | WALLY HERGER (R) -- age 53 Elected in 1986 |
| Opponents | Rob Braden (D) --age 68 Retred Professor/1996 nominee Patrice Thiessen (Natural Law) |
| Outlook | Strong Republican |
| District Profile; | North and East - Chico; Redding. 1996 House D-34% R-61% |
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Open Seat |
Doug Ose (R) |
Ross Crain (Libertarian) Newspaper Publisher | |
| Outlook | Leans Republican |
| District Profile; | North Central Valley. Vic Fazio (D) is retiring. |
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Incumbent | JOHN DOOLITTLE (R) -- age 48 Elected in 1990 |
| Opponents | David Shapiro (D) --age 56 Medical Social Worker Dan Winterrowd (Libertarian) Business Manager |
| Outlook | Strong Republican |
| District Profile; | Northeast Central. 1996 House: D-36% R-60% |
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Incumbent | ROBERT MATSUI (D) -- age 57 Elected in 1978 |
| Opponents | Robert Dinsmore (R) --age 63 Compuer Software Developer Douglas Tuma (Libertarian) Retired Civil |
| Outlook | Strong Democrat |
| District Profile; | Sacramento. 1996 House: D-70% R-26% |
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Incumbent | LYNN WOOLSEY (D) -- age 61 Elected in 1992, 1996 |
| Opponents | Ken McAuliffe (R) --age 45 Building Contractor Alan Barreca (Natural Law) Educator/Developer |
| Outlook | Strong Democrat |
| District Profile; | Northern Bay Area; Sonoma and Marin counties. 1996 House: D-62% R-34% |
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Incumbent | GEORGE MILLER (D) -- age 53 Elected in 1974 |
| Opponents | Norman Reece (R) --age 57 Minister/Educator/1996 nominee Marklyn Wilson (Socialist Workers) Railroad Conductor/1996 |
| Outlook | STRONG DEMOCRAT |
| District Profile; | Northeastern Bay Area. 1996 House: D-72% R-22% |
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Incumbent | NANCY PELOSI (D) -- age 58 Elected in 1987, 1996 |
| Opponents | David Martz (R) --age 31 Attorney David Smithstein (Natural Law) Business Consultant/1996 |
| Outlook | STRONG DEMOCRAT |
| District Profile; | San Francisco. |
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Incumbent | BARBARA LEE (D) -- age 52 |
| Opponents | Clay Sanders (R) Real Estate Broker Gerald Sanders (Peace and Freedom) Walter Ruehling (Natural Law) Educator |
| Outlook | STRONG DEMOCRAT |
| District Profile; | Alameda County - Oakland; Berkeley. Rep. Ronald Dellums resigned February 6. Rep. Lee was elected in an April 7 special election. |
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Incumbent | ELLEN TAUSCHER (D) -- age 46 Elected in 1996; Endorsed by Emily's List |
| Opponents | Charles Ball (R) --age 36 National Security Analyst Valerie Janlois (Natural Law) Fmr State Party Chair/non-profit John Place (Reform) Businesman/1996 |
| Outlook | LEANS DEMOCRAT |
| District Profile; | Eastern Contra Costa and Alameda counties. 1996 House: D-49% R-47% |