Down to the wire, Boxer tells supporters her reelection hinges on turnout

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Monday’s events marked the end of a long slog, not just for the candidates, but for their legions of volunteers. Among them were Helen Giroux, Kaye Clarke and Lisa Hopgood, who chatted over coffee at Patys Restaurant in Toluca Lake as they waited for their candidate: Barbara Boxer.

The three women from Studio City became close friends in 2008 while volunteering for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and this year they directed their efforts toward Boxer’s reelection bid against former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina.

Since 2008, “We have not stopped volunteering,” said Hopgood, who added that she had been putting up signs, walking precincts and phone banking. “It’s exhausting … but you do the work. You just do the work.”

The Boxer-Fiorina race has been tight for months, but as the final adrenaline raced Monday, the three friends said they were feeling good about the chances of a candidate they described as “pro-women, pro-choice and pro-environment.”

When Boxer arrived in the midst of her final get-out-the-vote sprint, they told her they had made thousands of calls on her behalf.

“How many calls?” Boxer asked for the benefit of the cameras.

“Thousands,” the three women repeated in unison.

“Are we feeling pretty good? Are we winning?” the candidate asked them.

“We’re winning. You’re going to win,” Helen Giroux told her.

In brief remarks, Boxer told the assorted diners (many of whom were her volunteers) that she was up in the polls.

“The only thing that can stop us is if people take it for granted and don’t vote,” Boxer said. “So you know what the message is: Get out the—“

“Vote,” they shouted back.

-- Maeve Reston in Toluca Lake

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