A new poll this week finds that the mighty Barbara Boxer is in a real race for U.S. Senate: She's in a statistical dead heat with businesswoman and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, according to Rasmussen Reports.

The poll has Democratic Sen. Boxer leading 44 percent to Fiorina's 43 percent of likely voters. Rasmussen calls them “essentially tied in California's U.S. Senate race, moving the state from Leans Democratic to a Toss-Up in the Rasmussen Reports.”

AOL's Politics Daily reports that Boxer has yet to reach the 50 percent “comfort zone” in this attempt at a forth term in the U.S. Senate.

“Still,” states Rasmussen, “given California's Democratic leanings and Boxer's powers of incumbency, the race remains a tough one for Fiorina, a political newcomer.”

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