to hard-pressed voters . Facing an intensifying risk of self-inflicted defeat in a winnable race , party leaders and donors enticed former state budget director Tom Campbell into the race . Campbell immediately stepped into first place in the polls , five points ahead of Fiorina , 15 ahead of DeVore . The `` demon sheep '' ad was Fiorina 's attempt to head Campbell off at the pass . No description can do justice to the ad 's low-budget strangeness . The ad presents Campbell as a dangerous predator with glowing red eyes , preying upon Fiorina 's flock . Never mind that it 's not usually smart tactics to represent the voters as dim-witted sheep . The more urgent question for California Republicans is this : What should they make of the substance of Fiorina 's attack on Campbell ? Here 's the former front-runner 's case : Campbell presents himself as a committed fiscal conservative . In fact , however , he 's a career politician largely responsible for the state 's budget crisis . He helped write the 2005 California budget , which contained a big jump in state spending . He called for raising the
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The weirdest campaign ad of this season -- maybe any season -- debuted on the Internet this past week . The ad has been nicknamed , `` Demon Sheep , '' and can be viewed here . The ad is an opening salvo in what will could prove the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history . The incumbent , Barbara Boxer , has always been the less popular of California 's two Democratic senators . Boxer now looks vulnerable . Two Republicans declared early for the nomination against Boxer : state Sen. Chuck DeVore and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina . Fiorina took an early lead . But her performance on the campaign trail disheartened many of her supporters . Worse , Fiorina never developed a good answer to the questions about her business career . Portfolio magazine had dubbed Fiorina one of the 20 worst CEOs of all time after a disastrous merger with Compaq . Fiorina was fired in 2005 after company stock dropped 60 percent in a year . She herself walked away with a payday estimated as high as $ 40 million . That history was tough to explain