Fiorina, GOP add $4 million in California’s Senate race

The Upshot

Senate Republicans are placing another big bet on Carly Fiorina, kicking in $3 million to boost her bid against Barbara Boxer in California's Senate race. That means the National Republican Senatorial Committee has now spent $8 million on the race since September--one of its biggest investments in the country.

But that's not the only cash infusion Fiorina is getting. After weeks of speculation, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO kicked in $1 million of her own money to her campaign, marking the first significant investment she's made to her general election bid against Boxer.

(Last week, Fiorina reinvested a $40,000 refund she had received from the campaign related to her $5.5 million in spending during the GOP primary.)

All of this comes on the heels of a Los Angeles Times/USC poll released Sunday that found Boxer leading Fiorina by 8 points among likely voters. While Democrats seized on the survey as evidence that Boxer is pulling away in the race, the poll seems to be an outlier against other recent surveys, which have found the race virtually tied.

According to the latest campaign finance reports in the race, Boxer entered October with nearly $7 million in the bank—about three times as much as Fiorina has. Boxer has doubtless raised more in recent weeks, thanks in part to a fundraising appearance with President Obama last week. She's scheduled to appear with first lady Michelle Obama this week.

Still, Boxer remains vulnerable, largely because of California's sluggish economy. It's an issue that Fiorina has raised again and again in ads, including a new spot out Monday that repeats a stylistic theme likening modern-day California to the sepia-toned images of the Great Depression. "Barbara Boxer failed to protect California jobs," the ad says, as images of the homeless and unemployed workers flash on the screen. "Our hopes crushed by Washington. The legacy of Barbara Boxer."

You can watch the Fiorina ad here:

(Photo of Fiorina: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)