California mayor takes step toward governor's race
By LISA LEFF
Associated Press
July 2, 2008
Page 2 of 2
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is at the head of the pack. He signaled his interest in the governorship early, pumping $2.5 million of his own money into a campaign against a November term limits initiative that would have allowed a handful of powerful Democrats to stay on in Sacramento.
Since then, he's crisscrossed the state holding public events on insurance rate reductions for consumers and touting crackdowns on insurance scofflaws. He's also appeared with the governor at disaster zones in the wake of wildfires.
Former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina, who is working the California fundraising circuit on behalf of presumed GOP presidential nominee John McCain, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. Another name floated for the state's top job is former eBay Inc. president Meg Whitman, who became a national co-chairwoman of the McCain campaign after serving as Mitt Romney's finance chairwoman.
Dan Schnur, a Republican media strategist not affiliated with any potential candidate, said both Brown, with his strong name recognition, and Newsom, with his solid liberal credentials, would be strong primary contenders.
"The conventional wisdom is that the same-sex marriage issue is a double-edged sword for Newsom, but I'd argue that it makes him the most likely Democratic nominee," Schnur said. "An issue like this in the Democratic primary gives him an ability to break out of the pack."
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Associated Press writer Juliet Williams in Sacramento contributed to this report.
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