Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer now have good-sized leads in their respective races for governor and senator of California.
I never had any doubt about Boxer. Every time she runs there are dire predictions that this time, wow, she’s really vulnerable and could well lose. Well, she’s never lost a major election and won’t lose this one either. And if opponents consistently under-estimate her, that’s to her advantage.
How did Jerry Brown pull this off? Whitman will spend $150 million of her own money and Brown looked on the ropes a few weeks back yet now his campaign is surging while Whitman’s sputters. He has strange and wondrous political mojo indeed.
I don’t think we need to look to “strange and wondrous political mojo” to explain election as the governor of California. Consider the successful gubernatorial candidates since Brown’s last go-round: George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger (not to mention Brown’s predecessor). I’ll grant you “strange”, but hardly “wondrous”. This is not an inspiring lineup.
None of them are inspiring. Or have answers for the budget mess