Author: Rachel Kaplan
Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom dropped out of California’s Democratic gubernatorial primary on Oct. 30 amidst lagging poll numbers and lackluster fundraising.
Newsom declared familial responsibilities as the reason for dropping out of the campaign. “With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to – and should – be done,” he said in a public statement.
But, with an October CBS field poll showing Newsom down 20 points to Attorney General Jerry Brown among Democratic voters and Newsom behind seven to one in fundraising for the first half of the year, the move was not surprising to those following the race. “Newsom’s fundraising was lagging, so I’m sure he was reading the tea leaves,” Politics Professor Regina Freer said in an e-mail interview.
As mayor, Newsom gained national notoriety for being the first official in the country to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004 for a month before the California Supreme Court halted the weddings. He also gave San Franciscans universal health care, symbolically signed onto the Kyoto Protocol and even attempted to create a free city-wide wireless network.His policies appeal to the liberal side of the population, and garnered support among the younger generation. “I still believed he had a chance. He had tremendous support among college students,” Daniel Wolf (first-year) said.
Wolf, who was in the beginning stages of forming an Oxy for Newsom club on campus, felt let down by Newsom’s choice. “I was very disappointed, but at the same time it was probably the right decision,” he said.
Jerry Brown, who was governor of California from 1975-1983, is, at present, well-poised to secure the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial race without any competition.
But Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), a heavyweight in California politics, still has not definitively ruled herself out of contention. “What does affect [my decision to run for governor] is watching to see what precise programs are put forward by various candidates to handle what is a very serious structural budget deficit in this state,” she said on Thursday, Nov. 5, as reported in the San Jose Mercury News.
According to the Washington Post, polls indicate that if Feinstein ran for governor, she would have a strong starting advantage over Brown and all of the big Republican candidates. And an early October poll by the Field Research Corporation had Feinstein beating Brown by 13 points.
However, thanks to the Democrat’s 2008 power grab, Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for 17 years, has enjoyed a greater role in crafting legislation, particularly as the Chairwoman of the powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the entire U.S. intelligence community, giving her less impetus to leave.
Freer said that although there is the possibility someone else will enter the race, it does not seem likely. Therefore, Brown will probably be the democratic nominee.
Brown’s main Republican opponents in the race for Governor include CEO Meg Whitman, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and California Director of Finance Tom Campbell. Both Whitman and Poizner are extremely wealthy from success in Silicon Valley and have the capabilities to finance their own campaigns, while Campbell has political experience as a former Congressman. Whitman says she will fire state workers and reduce state regulations and taxes, Poizner plans to cut taxes and build a $10 billion “Rainy day fund,” while Campbell, a moderate, says it all comes down to efficient management. A recent poll by the Sacramento Capitol Weekly shows that Whitman has taken the lead among GOP candidates with 34 percent, while Campbell has 13 percent and Poizner has six.
Unfortunately for Brown, there is not the same sense of excitement for him as there was for Newsom among the younger generation. “As a person in the Obama generation, I don’t think a lot of young people would want to see an old white guy [as their governor],” Dwight Hobbs (junior) said.
Conversely, the general opposition to Brown is not strong. “I certainly would have preferred Newsom, but Brown is very experienced and very qualified,” Wolf said.
As of May 2009, 44.6 percent of registered voters were Democrats and 31.1 percent were Republicans.
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