For a little while now, I had been hearing persistent whispers that California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner had advanced in his preparations for a run for the Republican 
nomination for Governor in 2010 — so much so to the point that he was in dialogue with nationally acclaimed political strategist Mike Murphy (pictured).
Well, I have now reached out to enough of our FR contacts to be able to say that Poizner has not only met personally with Murphy, but has engaged in multiple phone conversations with him. In addition, several members of Poizner’s "senior team" have been in dialogue with Murphy. While I’m not prepared to say that Murphy has signed on the dotted line (I’m sure that would come with an official statement and media-blitz by Poizner and Murphy), I think I feel safe characterizing this was in the final stages of a negotiation.
Of course, bringing Murphy onboard as a senior strategist would be the loudest and most definitive sign to date that the wealthy (which might be an understatement) Poizner has made up his mind to run for Governor. Poizner, of course, was the only Republican to win statewide election in 2006 besides Governor Schwarzenegger, who one handily but rather famously had no coat-tails down ticket.
Murphy was a key player in the campaign of Arnold (1.0) in the 2003 recall that saw the disgraced Governor Gray Davis taken out of office. He is also close with Senator McCain — so much so that while he originally was an advisor to the Mitt Romney campaign, he ultimately sat out the Presidential primary because of his friendship with multiple candidates.
Of course bringing Murphy on board would be a big "pickup" for Poizner, as Murphy bring with him a lot of "street cred" as an accomplished political consultant who has brought many candidates for statewide office over the finish line. You can read all about Murphy by checking out his bio.
Murphy is a founder and principal of the firm Navigators. This becomes significant especially because a couple of other well-known California politicos are part of the Navigators team — Rob Stutzman and Todd Harris, both of who bring a considerable amount of talent and gravitas to bear — especially in the Golden State.
As the shoe drops and Murphy becomes official, this will also send a clear signal to some of the other ersatz GOP nominees for Governor such as E-Bay’s Meg Whitman, or former HP Chieftain Carly Fiorina, that the primary may be a tougher win than the general — and that is saying something for California.
As a strong conservative myself, I will say that I have been impressed with the moxie and drive of Poizner, who admittedly isn’t as conservative as I would like (who is?) — especially on some of the social issues. But he certainly scored huge brownie points with me for picking up the ball and running with it relative to opposing Proposition 93, Speaker "Emeritus" (that means "lame duck" in Capitol-land) Fabian Nunez’s infamous attempt to weaken term limits and give himself another six years in office. I can say without a doubt that but for Poizner’s involvement and leadership (h/t to U.S. Term Limits and the New Majority as well as a few other key players) that 93 would have passed.
I think that Poizner’s theme of "taking on the Sacramento establishment" might be continued if he clocks in with Mike Murphy, who is most definitely not a Sacramento insider. Which isn’t to say that Poizner’s team wouldn’t include a wide array of California talent – I’m sure it will. In fact, I’m sure there is a line to his door ;)
We’ll see how all of this develops, but it is a statement about the sheer volume of the challenge of running for office in California that campaigns start years in advance. After all, early this week San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom opened his campaign kitty for the top job, and Attorney General Jerry Brown has made no secret of his interest in returning to the state’s top elected post.. Yep, in less than three years, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be relegated to an official portrait hanging somewhere in the Capitol, and someone else will be sworn into the Governor’s office. Let the games begin!