California, one eighth of the nation’s population, will be the center of a lot of political coverage this fall. Two GOP businesswomen are challenging two long time Democratic officeholders who have never had trouble being elected, and are unlikely to lose their races for Governor and Senator!
I am referring to Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, who is challenging former Governor Jerry Brown, who was the youngest governor in California history when he served from 1975-1983, and now will likely be the oldest governor in the state’s history!
I am also referring to Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard (who was fired with a great severance package), who is challenging Senator Barbara Boxer, who has served three terms in the Senate, and has long been a liberal champion!
Whitman spent approximately $80 million of her own money to win the GOP nomination over an opponent who ONLY spent about $25 million! 🙂 This is again proof of the need to limit private spending in politics, which has become an epidemic! One has to wonder how a person as rich as Whitman can possibly understand the problems of average Americans! Whitman has painted herself in a very right wing corner, and one has to be creative to figure out how she expects to win a state that has long been one of the most liberal in the nation!
Brown not only served as Governor for two terms, but also ran for President in 1976, 1980, and 1992. He has also, at different times been Mayor of Oakland and California Attorney General, his most recent position. While Brown has long been considered quite weird by many, he has constantly been in public life for nearly forty years, and has always remained popular with voters. His earlier experiences make him far better qualified to run the state than a novice politico with corporate experience who has never had to deal with real life government issues!
Carly Fiorina had lots of troubles with the Board of Hewlett Packard and was forced out in 2005. She went on to be an adviser to Senator John McCain in his 2008 Presidential campaign, although causing some controversy by some remarks she made, losing her close contact with McCain as a result!
Barbara Boxer has never been known to cut back on her outspokenness, so therefore is controversial.  However, her heart is always in the right place, and her seniority is something California is unlikely to wish to lose! And since Fiorina is running a hard line conservative campaign, again, it is not likely that California is going to go all the way to the Far Right!
One has to remember the importance of the Latino vote, and since it is a large portion of the voting population in California, to project a victory for Whitman and Fiorina over Brown and Boxer would seem to be a bad bet! LOL 🙂