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The set-up reads like a movie script: High-powered women battling for the high-powered jobs of running California and representing the state in Congress. Throw in a Hollywood actor -- Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who can't run again because of term limits and a sitting senator aligned with an increasingly unpopular president -- Barbara Boxer -- and the action is fast-paced, full of twists and turns, accusations and counterclaims heading into the Tuesday party primaries.
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In the governor's race, Republican Meg Whitman, former chief executive officer of online auction site eBay, is maintaining a 24-point lead over state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, 53 percent to 29 percent, a recent Los Angeles-USC poll indicated.
Whitman, making her first bid for public office, saw her one-time 40-point lead shrink from attacks by Poizner, who accused her of being soft on illegal immigration, chastised her for not voting much of her adult life and criticized her association with investment bank Goldman Sachs. But she bounced back with her own barrage of criticism toward Poizner.
Overall, the poll findings suggest while Poizner dinged Whitman, he hasn't made an affirmative case for himself.
Other GOP candidates on file with the Secretary of State's office are railroad switchman Richard Chambers, retired business owner Douglas Hughes, broadcasting executive Ken Miller, accountant Lawrence Naritelli, psychologist-farmer Robert Newman and Dr. David Tully-Smith.
On the Democratic side, state Attorney General Jerry Brown wants his old job back, seeking the governor's mansion he occupied 35 years ago. The 70-year-old Democrat spent four decades in public service. Along the way he had three failed runs for U.S. president.
The Secretary of State lists as Democratic candidates businessman Richard Aguirre, artist Lowell Darling, mechanical engineer Vibert Greene, parole board judge Charles Pineda Jr., non-profit consultant Peter Schurman and non-profit president Joe Symmon. None is considered serious competition.
"I have a very strong record in every office I've held of new ideas and bold moves," Brown said.
Californians have not one compelling race but two -- the other being Boxer's re-election bid and the Republican's hopes to dash her quest in November.
Leading the pack of GOP candidates is Carly Fiorina, former president and CEO at Hewlett Packard and an adviser to 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Two weeks before the primary, Rasmussen indicated Fiorina held a 38 percent-to-23 percent lead over her main opponent, former Rep. Tom Campbell. In third was state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore at 16 percent.
While her campaign got off to a rocky start, including the odd tagline "Carlyfornia Dreamin'," Fiorina has the money and momentum heading into the three-way California GOP Senate primary against Campbell and DeVore.
Thanks in part to the $5.5 million she contributed to her campaign, Fiorina blanketed TV stations statewide with ads while Campbell was forced to temporarily go dark because of a lack of funds, Real Clear Politics reported. DeVore, backed by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and other conservatives, never really gained traction in the primary race. Others on the Republican ballot are Tim Kalemkarian and businessman Al Ramirez.
Feeling her oats, Fiorina recently released an ad ripping Boxer, running for a fourth term in office.
Fiorina's financial advantage in the primary essentially evaporates in the general election, should she earn the party nod Tuesday. Boxer's already had two fundraising visits from President Obama, and through May 19 she was approaching a bankroll of $10 million.
Also on the Democratic ballot are journalist-blogger Robert Kaus and businessman-educator Brian Quintana, the Secretary of State's office said.
Boxer has the kind of approval numbers that usually mean a politician won't win re-election -- 37 percent approve while 46 percent disapprove, several recent polls indicate. However, a Public Policy Polling survey in mid-May indicated she still leads all of her Republican opponents for re-election by 3 percentage points to 7 percentage points in hypothetical match-ups.
