Former eBay boss Meg Whitman
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Poizner, founder of a company that produced the technology to put GPS in cell phones, which he sold for a reported $1 billion, is a confrontational spark plug who seems obsessed with Whitman. "Voters should choose her if they want someone to rebrand the state, and me if they want someone to rebuild it," he likes to say. He is offering his own plan to cut taxes and is presenting himself as the true conservative in the race (although he, like Whitman and Campbell, is socially moderate). If Whitman prevails in the June primary, she will probably face former Democratic governor Jerry Brown next November. Polls show that if the election were held today, Brown would defeat the GOP nominee soundly.
But a year is an eternity in politics, and Meg Whitman is prepared to spend what it takes. "We are running this campaign to win," she says. Californians have a history of taking chances at the polls, electing celebrity governors without any government experience. While it's clear that, under the right circumstances, such candidates can win, they can have a harder time governing. As Whitman may soon learn, even if aphorisms can pave the way to Sacramento, it will take more than platitudes to succeed there.