Calif. Gov. Candidates Line Up to Replace Arnold
Monday, February 16, 2009 10:23 PM

By: Lowell Ponte

The California governor’s office, one of the biggest prizes in American politics, is up for grabs in 2010 and potential candidates are already jockeying for position.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Attorney General Jerry Brown, and former eBay executive Meg Whitman are just a few of the names being mentioned for the post. The intense interest is hardly surprising given the high-profile status that comes with the job.

Home to nearly one of every eight Americans, California, if it were independent, would be the sixth richest nation on earth. But the next leader of the Golden State will need an extra measure of mettle given the sorry state of its economy and the turmoil roiling California politics.

The political discontent that in 2003 prompted voters to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and replace him with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has deepened. A state legislature, long dominated by Democrats, has used government benefits to buy voter support from the minorities that now comprise a majority of Californians, making California the sixth most heavily taxed state.

With a Republican governor reluctant to raise taxes, and a Democratic legislature unwilling to rein in runaway spending, California's budget deficit is growing by $28,000 per minute, $40 million each day, and within months the state will face a $42 billion shortfall. In Schwarzenegger's words, it’s “a financial Armageddon.â€