CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE : Herschensohn on Attack in TV Ads

Turning up the heat in his underdog fight for the U.S. Senate, candidate Bruce Herschensohn attacked rival Barbara Boxer on Tuesday in two blistering television ads that take her to task for writing overdrafts on the House bank and billing taxpayers for rides to the airport.

Herschensohn, a former television commentator, looks into the camera in one commercial and, in an almost folksy tone, skewers his opponent:

“Ya know, 143 bounced checks, wow, that’s, that’s a lot, that’s really a lot. . . . Boy, I mean, do you want her trying to balance your budget? Our government’s budget? Gee!”

This 30-second spot and a second one, both of which began running late Monday night, also criticize Democrat Boxer’s poor attendance record in Congress and her vote in favor of a pay raise.

Boxer has previously apologized for the bad checks, said she supported the pay raise because the same bill banned honorariums, and explained that her attendance in Congress has been hurt recently by the need to campaign in California.

Herschensohn’s campaign manager, Ken Khachigian, said the new negative ads are part of an aggressive strategy mapped out for the campaign between now and the Nov. 3 election and aimed at Boxer’s character. “This is a guerrilla campaign,” he said. “We are doing everything we can.”

Boxer spokeswoman Karen Olick said, “Clearly, Bruce Herschensohn has become an attack dog, and he’s attacking Barbara Boxer because he’s afraid of running on his own out-of-touch ideas.”

Herschensohn, a Los Angeles Republican and former aide to President Richard M. Nixon, and Boxer, a five-term congresswoman from Marin County, are vying for the six-year seat being vacated by Sen. Alan Cranston.

Khachigian said he rushed to get the ads on the air now, while Boxer has yet to put commercials on television.

He said his polling has shown Herschensohn gaining substantially on Boxer, who recently enjoyed a comfortable lead of approximately 20 points in most statewide polls. Khachigian said that his polls show Herschensohn cutting Boxer’s lead in half.

The early commercials gain an advantage because they have few other political ads to compete with for viewers’ attention, Khachigian said.

“We expected the race to narrow,” Olick said. “Clearly, every candidate has their vulnerabilities. Bruce Herschensohn has his vulnerabilities, and those will be brought out between now and Election Day.”

Boxer’s campaign manager, Rose Kapolczynski, said the one thing that did surprise her was that Herschensohn, who is not well known in some parts of the state, went negative as early as he did.

“I think we’re going to be competitive with Herschensohn on the air these last four weeks,” she said. “He had to go on earlier just to catch up. If you’re 20 points behind, you have to get out there (earlier) and spend more money.”

The delay in Boxer’s ads has fueled speculation over whether Boxer was having trouble raising money. The candidate addressed this question earlier in the week, when she vowed to start airing ads “as soon as possible.”

“I wouldn’t say there are financial problems, but I think we have to be wise about conserving our TV dollars so that we don’t get caught short,” Boxer said.