Fresh off the vanquishing of a moderate Republican in NY-23, and losing a seat held by the GOP since 1871 in the process, tea party activists and conservative movement operatives are turning their sights around the country to purify their party. Yesterday I discussed Charlie Crist’s troubles in Florida, facing a primary against a hard-core conservative. Today, there are signs of the same dynamic in a Senate primary in California.

Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard (and interestingly, the only person let go from the failed 2008 McCain campaign), announced her candidacy for the US Senate, challenging Barbara Boxer next year. Polls have shown her down considerably to Boxer, and Party Chair in California John Burton had some amusement at her expense in a press release titled “Failed CEO Seeks New Hobby”:

“The last thing Californians need in a U.S. Senator is a failed CEO who was fired by her last employer after taking $100 million for herself.

“In these tough times, hard-working Californians need a Senator who will fight to create jobs, not a millionaire former executive who laid off more than 28,000 Americans and shipped jobs overseas.

“Carly Fiorina may have millions to spend on a Senatorial race, but Californians will not be snookered by yet another millionaire neophyte in search of a new hobby.

“Maybe Fiorina’s ill-advised run for Senate will finally inspire her to take the time to vote.

“Senator Boxer and the California Democratic Party will be ready for Assemblymember Chuck DeVore, Fiorina or whoever wins the Republican primary in 2010.”

Fiorina had to address her spotty voting record in her announcement, saying “Admittedly, I have not always been engaged in the electoral process” right off the top. But she ought to also take a look at her Senate primary opponent, Chuck DeVore. A far-right member of the State Asembly from Orange County, DeVore has a decent profile among conservative activists in the state, and a recent poll showed the two already tied among GOP voters. The California GOP primary is closed, and Republicans here are further to the right than practically any other state. Conservative activists are resentful that Fiorina has been foisted upon the state to supplant their hero Chuck DeVore. And now, they have a partner in Jim DeMint.

DeMint announced last night his Senate Conservative Fund was endorsing state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore over former Hewlett Packard chief Carly Fiorina. The group supports only “rock solid” conservatives, organizers told supporters on a conference call last night as election results came in.

DeVore “will work with me to shake things up,” DeMint said, and “vote the right way …
stand up in our conference meetings and say, ‘Folks this is wrong let’s turn this thing around.’”

He urged supporters to directly donate to the DeVore campaign.

That would be what DeVore needs. Fiorina will probably have a well of money to spend on the primary, while DeVore has been anemic in his fundraising. After a year of campaigning, he has a whopping $56,000 in the bank, compared to $6.35 million for Sen. Boxer.

However, high-spending candidates did not do well on Election Day last night, and if the same conservative grassroots energy can be deployed in California, DeVore could potentially pull a surprise. He would likely face the same fate in the general election, however, as past conservatives in this progressive state – a blowout loss.