Fresno mayor latest Republican to pass on Boxer race

The Republican mayor of Fresno, Calif., Ashley Swearengin, will not compete for the Senate seat Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is vacating in 2016.

“She’s letting people know this weekend that she’s decided against a run,” Swearengin’s strategist Tim Clark told the Sacramento Bee in an email on Friday. “It’s just not the right seat for her at this time.”

Boxer announced her decision to retire on Jan. 8. Her departure in 2016 will end her Congressional tenure after three decades. It will also free up the top Democratic spot on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which she chaired in the 113^th Congress.

{mosads}The Bee reported that Swearengin’s decision makes her the latest potential GOP candidate to pass on Boxer’s seat. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to sit out the race, as are San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Neel Kashkari, who ran for governor of California in 2014.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) has also chosen not to try replacing Boxer. His decision leaves California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) the sole major figure in the race so far.

So far, Democrats have lauded Harris’ candidacy based on her wide appeal among voters. She is considered an exciting prospect based on her youth, centrism and diverse heritage.

A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released Friday shows that twenty-eight percent of voters support Harris. Villaraigosa gained nineteen percent support, while Swearengin received nine percent. Swearengin’s share was the largest received by any potential GOP candidate.

The poll noted that only nineteen percent of those surveyed could identity Swearengin. Of those, only eight percent had a favorable view of her, while four percent saw her unfavorably.

The Bee, meanwhile, noted Swearengin may have options in 2018 instead. California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) will step down due to term limits, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) could also decide to retire by then.