Yeah, that's the last thing we need is a contested Republican L.G. race when we already have the best state-wide candidate available and we need to keep all the money in our warchest to win in November.
The TerminatedShe may have been pushed out as Hewlett Packard's CEO earlier this year, but Carly Fiorina is now being touted by some Republicans as a possible candidate for lieutenant governor of California. Some aides to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are seeking to soften his image in the wake of the stinging defeats of his ballot initiatives at the polls last week. Backed by Maria Shriver, the governor's wife, they see Ms. Fiorina as an instant ticket to changing the Republican Party's image in the state and providing the governor with an attractive, moderate running mate as he enters the 2006 election cycle.
The 50-year-old Ms. Fiorina is certainly no political shrinking violet. Earlier this year, she urged the Bush White House to eschew any restrictions on trade, warning they would backfire and damage American competitiveness. "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore," she told a Congressional hearing. "We have to compete for jobs."
There's only one problem with plugging Ms. Fiorina, a political novice, into the lieutenant governor's race. The leading candidate in the GOP primary is State Senator Tom McClintock, a darling of California conservatives, who won rave reviews for his principled race for governor in the 2003 recall election. Trying to muscle Mr. McClintock aside would alienate the conservative voters and volunteers that Mr. Schwarzenegger needs for his own re-election effort. Voter apathy was a primary reason for the drubbing that Mr. Schwarzenegger's reform agenda just suffered at the polls. It might sound like a step down, but perhaps the governor's staff should consider running Ms. Fiorina for another down-ballot race, such as state comptroller or treasurer. Either would provide her with a highly visible platform to showcase her executive and financial skills.