by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

So now that the pesky June primary is behind us, the real positioning for the 2010 gubernatorial race is officially underway.

The November 2008 election marks the official beginning of the end of the accidental Schwarzenegger governorship. Yet some of the prospective Democrats and Republicans already appear to be revving up their campaign engines for two years of marathon campaigning that will be required to clinch the gubernatorial nominations of their parties.

Nearly all of the leading contenders strutted their stuff at the California Democratic Party's recent jamboree in San Jose. While Attorney General Jerry Brown teased the attendees about his intentions, his all-but-announced entry in the race doesn't seem to be cooling the talk of alternatives. It's safe to say he won't have a clean shot at the Democratic nomination.

Meanwhile in Republican circles, ex-HP head honcho Carly Fiorina and ex-eBay president Meg Whitman are being talked about as potential rivals to the uninspiring Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner. The ultra-conservative wing of the GOP doesn't appear to have a horse in the race yet either, but that's only a matter of time.
So here's an updated look at the crowded Democratic field.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

As someone who uses the “blog” world regularly, let me be the first to throw stones at it and especially at its use in the world of political analysis.

Internet communication creates the illusion that there is an unseen audience consuming the information and opinions presented there. The success of some sites and of the Obama campaign in fundraising gives impetus to this notion. I would suppose this is the feeling that long-time editorial writers for print outlets and letters-to-the-editor writers have a conviction that they are involved in ‘shaping’ public opinion.

Some blogs do indeed attract a following. “Commentaries” on expressed opinions can run into dozens, and that creates the illusion of a large audience. If your blog attracts attention nationally, the audience can run into the thousands (nationally).

But it is still a drop in the bucket.

The best example I’ve seen recently was the aborted campaign for Congress by Professor Lawrence Lessig. Lessig is a Stanford law professor who achieved some notoriety among internet fanciers for his libertarian challenge to copyright laws. He is influential among the many thousand net users who follow his entertaining blog.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Stephanie Chan
Communications Coordinator
Students for Barack Obama

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

I am an attorney and small winery owner seeking the Democratic Nomination for the California State Senate race in the 15th District, a District that comprises five counties spanning from Santa Maria to Santa Cruz.

I am running because I believe every political race should have at least two candidates so that the freer and broader flow of ideas and perspectives are afforded to the People. Seeing there was no Democratic contender for this race, I immediately contacted my local Democratic Party, filed the necessary papers, and formally announced my intention to become California's next State Senator for the 15th District on May 22, 2008.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Steve Cummings
Member
Ventura County Democratic Central Committee

In the endless battle for the Democratic Party nomination, the developments of the last 10 days offer a stark contrast that the Democratic Party faces as it comes to the end of the primaries and begins the final phase of the nominating process ending in Denver in August. Much has been written about the Clinton and Obama campaigns, with everyone minutely dissecting every campaign statement, poll, and primary result; whether the two campaigns help or hurt the party, whether the process is fair or even makes any sense. But what has been lost in all this discourse is what is actually going on here and where it is supposed to lead.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

With the announcement yesterday of Dennis Morris' write-in candidacy for the Democratic nomination in SD-15, alongside four other candidacies which I'll discuss in a moment, we now have a renewed opportunity to win a 2/3 majority in the State Senate this fall.

Democrats in California have been slow to recognize this opportunity and to take full advantage of it. Don Perata is partly to blame for this, as he blew two priceless chances to help accomplish 2/3 by not finding a challenger to Abel Maldonado here in SD-15, and by prematurely abandoning his backing of the Denham recall a few weeks ago. But despite the lack of support from Sacramento, grassroots activists across the state have mobilized and even put forth candidates to challenge Republicans, in districts both purple and red.

The 2/3 goal is one of the most important tasks facing California Democrats this year. As the state budget requires a 2/3 majority to pass, Republicans are able to leverage their greater-than-a-third minority to hold the budget and therefore the entire state hostage to their ridiculous and reckless demands for spending cuts that hurt the economy and most Californians.