From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…

Two Techies Maneuver Around the California Electorate

The two former CEOs who head the Republican ticket in California are often lumped together in the media, but Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are two different political animals.

Ms. Whitman is calm, reserved and more cautious in answering reporters’ questions in her race for governor. Ms. Fiorina, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, is more brassy and direct.

Ms. Fiorina is also taking a different approach than Ms. Whitman on a major issue in the campaign — a ballot measure to suspend the state’s draconian curbs on greenhouse gasses until California’s current unemployment rate of 12.4% falls by more than half.

While Ms. Whitman has called for a one-year suspension of the law in order to prevent job losses, this week she announced she would oppose Proposition 23. A full rollback, in her view, would overly jeopardize the state’s environmental protections. Ms. Fiorina is taking a different approach. After initially hesitating, she has come out in favor of Proposition 23, which she calls "a band-aid fix and an imperfect solution" but necessary to protect the state’s economy

It has been an article of faith in California that anyone who dissents from the local environmental orthodoxy can’t win a statewide election. Ms. Whitman and Ms. Fiorina will put that proposition to an empirical test. Right now, both races are rated as "tossups" by Real Clear Politics.

— John Fund

The Nay Area

The latest numbers out of California show Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor performing well among most demographics, yet desperately weak in one.

According to a new Field Poll, three groups that typically favor Democrats — women, Latinos and residents of Los Angeles County — are splitting their vote more or less evenly between Ms. Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown. Despite doing so well among these demographics, however, Ms. Whitman still finds herself tied overall at 41%-41%. The reason? A 40-point deficit in the Bay Area. Apparently, being a pro-choice Silicon Valley businesswoman isn’t getting the job done there.

This gaping hole in her victory hopes undoubtedly explains Ms. Whitman’s late decision to come out against California’s Prop 23, which would suspend the state’s climate change law until the state’s employment rate improves substantially. Ms. Whitman previously had avoided a taking a clear stand on the issue. Now she opposes the proposition, saying a better option is to suspend the climate law — which she nevertheless calls a "job killer" — for just one year, which she claims will be enough time to amend it properly.

Ms. Whitman’s announcement is no doubt a disappointment to the state’s Tea Party and pro-business groups, many of which called for the former eBay CEO to adopt a tougher stance. But she clearly has her eye on whittling down Mr. Brown’s lead among the more environmentally-conscious voters of the Bay Area.

— Carl J. Kelm

This entry was posted on Friday, September 24th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.