The latest breaking news on the California political scene is that Carly Fiorina, the former President
of Hewett Packard, is seriously considering a run for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor in 2006. In case you don’t have your playcard in front of you, yes, this the same nomination that widely popular and respected State Senator Tom McClintock is running for as well.
My initial analysis is the Fiorina would have to spend an aweful lot of money to build up her ‘name ID’ in the Golden State, and even at that, I think that there is a challenge in trying to build up POSITIVE numbers with an electorate that starts out cynical when you have a wealthy, self-funded candidate coming along.
Now, I will be the first to admit, I do not know much about the politics of Fiorina – she does not have much of a record of political giving, according to searches on the FEC website. I can say that at first-glancem, unlike the affable Steve Poizner, the search did not reveal contributions to Gore, Kerry and the Recount Committee.
But I will say this – Senator McClintock has tremendous cache built up with Republican voters, with high positives coming out of his very professional and statesemen-like demeanor during his brief candidacy for Governor in the recall election.
It doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to predict that there is a very convenient and mutually beneficial situation with a Schwarzenegger/McClintock ticket. The Governator will need the popular conservative State Senator to bring in base voters as he governs from the center-right.
That said, McClintock likely would not need Schwarzenegger to fend off Fiorina — he made
mincemeat out of former Assemblyman Dean Andal in their primary a few years ago for statewide office. And Andal had reaised seven figures! Since then, the recall will have almost certainly made McClintock even more formadable.
Well, politics being a small world — let’s see what "Team Arnold" does with this latest situation. The long term benefit for the Governor is to encouage Fiorina to run for a different office, and not upset a balance that is in place. Then again, too often, some of the advisors around the Governor are focused on the money game. A Fiorina candidacy, even if it only lasts until June, will spread around a lot of cash.
Here is Fiorina’s Wikopedia biography.
Here is what the Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary has to say on the matter:
She may have been pushed out as Hewlett Packard’s CEO earlier this year, but Carly Fiorina is now being touted by some Republicans as a possible candidate for lieutenant governor of California. Some aides to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are seeking to soften his image in the wake of the stinging defeats of his ballot initiatives at the polls last week. Backed by Maria Shriver, the governor’s wife, they see Ms. Fiorina as an instant ticket to changing the Republican Party’s image in the state and providing the governor with an attractive, moderate running mate as he enters the 2006 election cycle.
The 50-year-old Ms. Fiorina is certainly no political shrinking violet. Earlier this year, she urged the Bush White House to eschew any restrictions on trade, warning they would backfire and damage American competitiveness. "There is no job that is America’s God-given right anymore," she told a Congressional hearing. "We have to compete for jobs."
There’s only one problem with plugging Ms. Fiorina, a political novice, into the lieutenant governor’s race. The leading candidate in the GOP primary is State Senator Tom McClintock, a darling of California conservatives, who won rave reviews for his principled race for governor in the 2003 recall election. Trying to muscle Mr. McClintock aside would alienate the conservative voters and volunteers that Mr. Schwarzenegger needs for his own re-election effort. Voter apathy was a primary reason for the drubbing that Mr. Schwarzenegger’s reform agenda just suffered at the polls. It might sound like a step down, but perhaps the governor’s staff should consider running Ms. Fiorina for another down-ballot race, such as state comptroller or treasurer. Either would provide her with a highly visible platform to showcase her executive and financial skills.
* The WSJ’s Political Diary is a worthy subscription to get (just a few bucks a month for their insightful email. More info is available here.