Early Polling About California's Next Governor

I've been kind of figuring that the front-runner for Governor in 2010 was Gavin Newsom. But it turns out that Dianne Feinstein has indicated interest in the job. She’s the 800-pound gorilla and if she wants it, it’s obviously hers. Democrats will jostle for Attorney General or Lieutenant Governor instead. And there, again, I would have given the pole position to San Francisco's mayor.

But amazingly, the next-best performer in the early polls is not Gavin Newsom, it's Jerry Brown. I would have thought that we’d had enough of him from the 1970’s and early 1980’s. But maybe not. There might be something more to this than name recognition.

Both Brown and Feinstein are a little bit long in the tooth – she’ll be 77 years old in 2010, and Brown will be 72 – to be running for this job. You would expect someone in their fifties or early sixties. Which is why I would figure Newsom, or maybe Antonio Villaregosa, would be more suitable candidates. And there’s also Rancher John out there, he’s all but declared now too. I’m surprised anyone pays attention to Garamandi anymore, but I’ve got to hand it to him for keeping on trying.

On the Republican side of things, we have…

Um…

Hold on, it’ll come to me in a minute. Dick Mountjoy*, maybe?

*A very unfortunate name for a social conservative, by the way.