Later today, State Senator Jeff Denham will formally announce his candidate to be the next Lieutenant Governor of California, according to sources close to the FlashReport. Denham has become rather legendary within GOP donor and activist circles because of the failed attempt to recall him from office because of his leadership in opposing new taxes to resolve the state’s fiscal woes. As someone who follows Golden State politics closely, I welcome Denham into this race as his moxie, and straight-forward style are much desired with a party in need of solid representatives, who will clearly articulate the differences between Democrats and Republicans.
Denham is a tough and aggressive campaigner who has carried his huge Democratic-leaning Senate district – which spans the Central Valley to the Monterey Coast – 3 times. Denham was first elected in 2002 and re-elected in a landslide in 2006. As I mentioned above, earlier this year, former Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata financed an effort to recall Denham from office after the GOP legislator refused to vote for passage of an unbalanced state budget. Denham defeated the cynical recall campaign with an amazing 76% of the vote. The recall boosted Denham’s profile and has created an opportunity to take his fiscally conservative message statewide.
Denham’s distinguished himself in the California Senate as a leader for comprehensive budget reform and he’s pushed hard for better management of state surplus properties. He’s been a strong advocate for California’s small businesses and changing our state’s anti- business climate to make us more economically competitive. That said, Denham will have some work cut out for him as the posturing necessary to win a potential closed GOP primary for LG is definitely different than how you would position for a general election victory in a Democrat-leaning legislative district.
That said, one of the important ways to establish your bona-fides for a statewide run is your ability to garner the support of GOP leaders up and down the state. Look for Denham to come out of the gate touting some impressive endorsements such as Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, and Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who was recently tapped by the new House GOP Whip, Eric Cantor, to be his top Deputy. Denham’s support spans the spectrum of the GOP, from conservatives such as BOE Member Michelle Steel and former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte, to moderates like former Secretaries of State Bill Jones and Bruce McPherson. What I find most impressive is that Denham will announce the support of over two-thirds of both the Senate and Assembly GOP Caucuses.
FR readers know that I am a strong advocate for competitive primary challenges. I firmly believe that the ultimate nominee is in better “fighting shape” for a general election in these cases. That said, to be honest, I have yet to find one candidate who agrees with me! Go figure… Denham has been working hard and may, in fact, avoid a serious primary challenge because of his efforts – we’ll have to see how that goes. Given that he is going into 2009 with over a million dollars in his campaign coffers, he will be a very tough candidate to take on in a primary, and with his track record of winning for support of Democrat and Decline-To-State voters, he would be a very formidable in a general election match up.
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