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Barbara Boxer makes it official, files papers to run for reelection

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U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer filed her reelection paperwork Thursday morning, kicking off what could be the three-term Democratic senator’s most challenging reelection battle.

‘I only have one goal: to get California back on track by creating jobs and making life better for the people I represent. That is what I have always done; that is what I will always do,’ Boxer told reporters. ‘It will be tough, regardless of who my eventual opponent will be. We’re ready, we’re excited.’

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Boxer, 69, filed her paperwork at the office of the Riverside County registrar of voters because in 2006 she moved to Rancho Mirage from her longtime Marin County home. She was accompanied by her husband of nearly half a century, Stewart. Afterward, she planned to greet supporters at a nearby Mexican restaurant.

Boxer’s race comes at a dicey time for Democratic incumbents. In the sour economy, voters are growing increasingly hostile to politicians in Washington and Sacramento who they fear have failed them. Every week seems to bring more bad news for the party, such as the election of Republican Sen. Scott Brown in true-blue Massachusetts and the retirement of Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh in Indiana. Meanwhile, Boxer’s Republican opponents are receiving national exposure and dollars.

Recent polls show Boxer beating all three of them, but barely.

Boxer said she wished her poll numbers were higher, but said they track with where she was at this stage in her last reelection battle, nine months before election day. She added that she had been counted out in the past.

‘I’ve won 10 times in a row, and many of those races were very difficult and the pundits said Barbara Boxer will never win, she doesn’t have chance,’ she said. ‘We put together a great campaign.’

Her plan to win is to make sure voters know what she is accomplishing in Washington.

‘I need to tell them what I’ve done,’ she said.

-- Seema Mehta

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