“Barack Obama started running for president months after being sworn into the senate,” DeVore said. “Politics in America is a highly competitive endeavor. I’m not a billionaire and I’m not a tool of the special interests, so I have to get an early start. That early start will give me the ability to get my message out to the public, and I’ll sink or swim on that.”
Michael Glover, the Democrat who has twice unsuccessfully ran against DeVore and lost to him just this month, slammed DeVore on Wednesday for his political ambitions.
“If he wants to run for U.S. Senate, fine,” Glover said in a commentary for the Pilot. “Resign and pay for it himself.”
DeVore called Glover’s comments a “cheap partisan shot” and said the Democrat “never called to congratulate me when I won two years ago or this month.”
Glover said Wednesday that he e-mailed his congratulations to DeVore.
Impressed with how Obama used new media to power his campaign, DeVore said he will use the same tools such as social networking sites like Facebook, blogging and a YouTube channel. Symbolically, DeVore announced his bid Wednesday on a webcast from Sacramento.
DeVore will need every advantage he can get. He faces a senator with high name recognition, more money and a deeper political organization.
California has not had a Republican representative in the U.S. Senate in almost two decades. Democratic registration numbers in the state and across the country have been rising, making DeVore’s bid tougher.
“Barbara Boxer wants more of the same from Washington, D.C. … Only Republicans can turn the tide. Only the Republicans have a record of fiscal responsibility. Only the Republicans have a sound commitment to national defense,” DeVore said.
