CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS : Abortion, Change Cited as Key Issues for Feinstein and Boxer

When Californians elected Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer on Tuesday, the issues uppermost in their minds were abortion rights, the scarcity of women in the U.S. Senate, the need for change in Washington and environmental concerns, according to a Times exit poll.

Republicans Bruce Herschensohn and Sen. John Seymour, on the other hand, drew support from the GOP standby of opposition to “taxes and spending,” plus, to a lesser degree, images of honesty and integrity.

In the June primaries, abortion played a major role in helping Feinstein, the former San Francisco mayor, and Boxer, a five-term member of the House of Representatives from Marin County, become the first California women in four decades to be nominated for the U.S. Senate. And the volatile issue was again a prime influence in their victories Tuesday--especially among women.

In fact, a Times poll surveying 3,873 Californians as they left voting places found them choosing “the candidates’ stands on abortion” more than anything else when asked to pick from a list of “major influences” on their Senate votes. Then came the candidates’ positions on taxes and spending, “the need to bring change in Washington” and their solutions for the sour economy.

The exit poll showed that gender-based politics can be as successful in a general election as in a Democratic primary, especially when there is a strong Democratic tide.

Among voters backing Boxer and Feinstein, abortion was by far the biggest influence. Both women candidates repeatedly emphasized their support of abortion rights during the primary and general election campaigns. Seymour also supported abortion rights, but a Times poll in September found that only 20% of the voters realized it.

Herschensohn, on the other hand, advocated repeal of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing abortion rights, a stance that pitted him against most Californians.

Ranking second on the list of influences for voters supporting Boxer and Feinstein was “the need for more women in the Senate.” There currently are only three women among 100 senators. Then came “change”--an issue that traditionally favors women candidates--and the environment.

The influence of the environmental issue seemed to suggest that Seymour and Herschensohn may have taken the wrong side politically when they strongly opposed a sweeping water reclamation bill that, among other things, will take federal water from agriculture and use it for restoration of fish and wildlife. President Bush signed the bill Friday.

The supporters of Herschensohn and Seymour reported being influenced by their conservative fiscal positions, meaning that the GOP candidates apparently had some success in portraying the two San Francisco Bay Area Democrats as liberal “tax and spenders.”

The two Republicans also won points for “honesty and integrity.” This was an indication that Boxer probably was damaged by overdrafts from the now-defunct House bank, and Feinstein suffered politically from legal troubles she faced because of contribution and expenditure reporting in her 1990 gubernatorial campaign.

But while Feinstein and Boxer seemed to benefit from similar issues, as did Seymour and Herschensohn, their margins of support were far different. Feinstein blew away Seymour in their race, while the Boxer-Herschensohn contest was much closer.

The exit poll found that roughly one in 10 voters supported both Democrat Feinstein and Republican Herschensohn. These voters tended to be independents, moderates, people over 65, small-town residents and so-called Reagan Democrats.

There was some gender bias in the voting. Men divided about equally between Boxer and Herschensohn, but women backed Boxer by more than 5 to 3. Men supported Feinstein by more than 5 to 4, and women did so 2 to 1.

Roughly nine in 10 Jews supported Feinstein, and approximately eight in 10 Jews backed Boxer. Both became California’s first Jewish senators, as well as the first women elected to the Senate from this state. Herschensohn also is Jewish.

Herschensohn held the support of roughly three-fourths of his fellow Republicans. But Seymour could muster only about two-thirds of GOP voters. Meanwhile, Boxer was backed by roughly eight in 10 Democrats. Feinstein was favored by nearly nine in 10 Democrats.

The San Francisco Bay Area went big for its home-region Senate candidates--voting 4 to 1 for Feinstein and 3 to 1 for Boxer.

Seymour, a former Orange County state senator, ran virtually even with Feinstein in Southern California outside of Los Angeles County, where he lost roughly 2 to 1. Feinstein was favored 5 to 4 in the Central Valley.

Herschensohn, a former Los Angeles television commentator, carried Southern California outside of Los Angeles County by 4 to 3. But Boxer won by roughly 5 to 3 in Los Angeles County. The Central Valley tilted slightly toward Herschensohn.

The exit poll showed a continued poor performance rating for Gov. Pete Wilson and suggested that it was a major factor among voters opposing Proposition 165, the initiative Wilson sponsored to cut welfare benefits and strengthen the governor’s budget powers. Only 28% of the voters surveyed said they approve of the job Wilson is doing.

Among those who approved of Wilson’s job performance, the verdict was roughly 2 to 1 in favor of Proposition 165. But the vast majority who disapproved of how Wilson is handling his job opposed Proposition 165, also by a 2-1 margin.

Voters who think that the country is headed “in the right direction” supported Proposition 165 by roughly 3 to 2. But the three-fourths of the electorate who say the nation is “off on the wrong track” voted against the governor’s proposal by more than 5 to 3.

Opposition to Proposition 165 was strongest among Democrats, liberals, Jews, and gays and lesbians. Its biggest supporters were Republicans and conservatives. Women disapproved in stronger numbers than did men, although it was opposed by voters of both sexes.

Regionally, the biggest opposition to Proposition 165 came from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Proposition 161, to allow doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia, was most strongly opposed by Republicans, conservatives, Latinos and voters from small towns. Its major supporters included liberals, Jews and gays and lesbians.

Proposition 167, to increase taxes on businesses and the wealthy, was strongly opposed by Republicans, conservatives, people over 65 and those earning more than $60,000. Among its principal backers were liberals, blacks and lesbians.