Whitman has always been way to the left of center with her own agenda. I remember that a whole lot of conservatives were ready to run her for President before George Bush came along.
Oh please, Whitman was never considered anything but a RINO by conservatives. She was trumped up by the media, but conservatives hated her from day 1. Most went into a hissy fit when she was appointed to head the EPA. I thought be OK, only because the EPA had no involvement in social issues where Whitman was most liberal in. But she out-RINOed herself and became a global warming extremist, pushing her agenda over Bush's.