Calif. politicos avoid Prop. 8 discourse

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Nominees for governor and U.S. Senate in California are saying little publicly about this week's court ruling on same-sex marriage, electoral analysts say.

Republican Senate nominee Carly Fiorina and gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman oppose U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker's ruling overturning California's ban on gay marriage, and Jerry Brown, the Democratic nominee for governor and Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer support it -- but four have been reluctant to talk about the issue, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Morris Fiorina, a political science professor at Stanford University who is not related to the candidate said, "It's a danger to both parties if you have big chunks of your own constituency that are on the other side of the issue."

The top two Republican candidates issued statements saying Walker's ruling was one step in a long process but no statements on the were found on the candidates' Web sites and all four of the top nominees said they planned to focus elsewhere during the campaign, the Times reported.

"We just made the decision that our time is used most effectively if we talk about the things where the next governor can have some impact," Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford said.

Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said the candidate will "continue to focus on her plans to keep and create jobs in California."