Although Capps has raised more money than Bordonaro, soft money support from the national Republican Party has placed the two candidates on more or less a level playing field. Both have the resources to saturate the airwaves and fill mailboxes in the final weeks of the campaign.

"We're raising the money. We're on target for what our program is. And we've got a grass-roots structure. I've had a lot of time to put together a grass-roots structure, and that doesn't show up on any [Federal Elections Commission] report," Bordonaro said.

He said the campaign was underfunded and underprepared going into the March election, but that has changed.

"We were strapped for cash until January, when we won the runoff, that's when the money came it," he said. "It was like starting at halftime."

Now, Bordonaro said he has been devoting his time and resources into expanding his base, particularly in Santa Barbara County, where he was defeated by 17 percentage points in March.

"To win swing voters, we're doing two things. We're spending a lot of time with those that don't know me outside the 33rd [Assembly District, SLO County]. We've been spending a lot of time down in the 35th Assembly District, but still trying to do a lot of stuff back here to make sure we have our back door covered. The other way is they will see Lois' liberal voting record. It think when the swing voters see some of the radical things she's voted for, it'll help," Bordonaro said.

While the tenor of the campaign has been positive on both sides so far, Bordonaro in recent weeks has started running more ads attacking Capps and her voting record.

"How do you define negative? I'm not going to call her any names and put any bad pictures of her up. I will talk about her vote record and I will talk about the issues," Bordonaro said.

But Capps has also been on television talking about her voting record.

"We do have a record, and it's one of standing strong for education, working really hard to stay in touch. The first thing we did after the election was to do a survey of all the school districts in this congressional district, the first time it had been done, to find out about their needs," Capps said.

Capps, a former nurse, is also emphasizing her support for health care reform, a stand she says is important to swing voters as well as those in her base.

"Why didn't we get health care reform passed? You know why. Because of the insurance companies themselves. They lobbied so hard against it. Is the country ready to do reform of HMOs? I think they are," Capps said.

The current campaign has not seen the high level of independent expenditures from outside groups that marked the spring contest, an experience Capps says increased her support for campaign finance reform.

"I came from a contested race with a lot of outside money. And I wanted to see that change, because I think it interfered with local decision making," said Capps, who voted for House Resolution 2183, a Republican-introduced campaign finance reform package approved by the House in August, which has been virtually ignored by the Senate.

Capps said the "independent, mainstream" message of her campaign contrasts nicely with Bordonaro’s partisan approach to politics.

"Is there too much partisanship in Washington, D.C.? Yes, of course there is, on both sides," she said. "And I'm frustrated with that. It means that the power is in the majority. There were almost two years that went by with not a lot of attention to many of the issues I think people care about."

Party Perspective

Looking at this race is a matter of perspective, and that perspective is colored by where you stand politically. Bordonaro and other Republicans believe this is essentially a conservative district, while the Capps camp thinks Bordonaro is too conservative for this district.

"Some people who were undecided, the more moderate Republicans, might vote for Lois now because she's done such a good job," said Torre Houlgate-West, co-chair of the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Central Committee.

She said area Democrats are working hard to ensure a big turnout, both for Capps and for Democrats in other tight races, particularly Sen. Barbara Boxer's re-election battle with Republican Matt Fong.

Houlgate-West and other Democrats had been worried the Clinton scandal would be harmful to their candidates, but now they think the impeachment inquiry might actually help.

"We were concerned with apathy on the part of Democrats, that they'd be disillusioned," she said. "But our response has been the opposite, with people feeling very partisan and upset with the Republicans in Washington."

Mat Higbee of Starboard Response, a San Luis Obispo company that does political consulting for Republicans, said the fact that Bordonaro has beefed up his political apparatus and volunteer network since March will be a huge factor in the election.

"I think the biggest factor in this race is going to be turnout. He doesn't need to change people's minds, he just needs to change the turnout," Higbee said.

Although Higbee believes Capps is a liberal, he does concede that using her voting record to make that case is difficult, especially in a 30-second commercial.

"She's done a fairly good job at covering herself on some key votes," Higbee said.

Yet a strong Republican turnout would favor Bordonaro despite the lack of obvious targets in the Capps voting record.

"We didn't get Republicans out to vote like we should have [in March], and we're going to this time," said George Galvan, chair of SLO County's Republican Central Committee. "It's a Republican seat and always has been a Republican seat."

But local Democratic political consultant Jay Salter says Capps has only increased her popularity with local voters since her election in March.

"I think Ms. Capps is going to win this election going away. I know people say it's going to be close, but I don't think so," Salter said. "They voted for her once, and they're going to do it again."

Also playing into this election is something that has nothing to do with either candidate, but with the status quo. During strong economies like the one we're experiencing now, incumbents do well at the polls.

"The national parties are all saying this is a good year to be an incumbent," Gill said.

But the Bordonaro campaign notes that he's a current office holder as well. Bordonaro also questions the support Lois Capps received in March, just a few months after the death of her husband.

"Someone said my slogan should be, 'It's Tom's turn,’" Bordonaro said.

"Well I've heard people say that," Bordonaro press secretary Leisa Brug interjected. "You know, her husband died and I just think she should have been able to fill out his term. That's why we voted for her; we felt sorry for her."

Bordonaro nodded.

"There are a lot of people who have told me they supported Lois Capps for reasons other than what her ideological basis was, and that was a factor. I don't want to sound harsh, but that was a factor in the unfortunate reason why we had a special election," he said.

Capps doesn't see it that way.

"My name was on the ballot. It was the term that Walter had been elected to, so it definitely had the mark of a legacy that I'm very proud to be able to continue. I'm also proud of the connection that I've made with people for who I am," Capps said.

Capps said voters in the 22nd District are happy with the representation they've had over the last two years, first with Walter, then with Lois. And she doesn't believe voters will be fooled by Bordonaro's attempts to label her some wild-eyed liberal.

"I was selected seven months ago to continue a legacy that was about being a citizen representative, mainstream, where people are not particularly partisan, so this whole issue of labeling wouldn’t come into my mind," Capps said.

Bordonaro believes his campaign is on track, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the closing days of this election.

"We're still on message, but a lot of this business is about perceptions," Bordonaro said. "The people of the 33rd (SLO County) know that I've done the job. The challenge has been taking it to the 35th Assembly District (S.B. County), and they're coming around very well, and that's what's going to win me the election. My general philosophy fits the district better than that of Lois Capps."

New Times staff writer Steven T. Jones is hoping to be elected to Congress in a last-minute write-in campaign. Send him support at sjones@newtimes-slo.com.