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Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who recently campaigned with GOP former Gov. Pete Wilson as being "tough as nails" on illegal immigration, could alienate her crucial conservative base, some party members say, by declaring she's in lockstep on the issue with her rival: former Gov. Jerry Brown. In an opinion piece published this week in a Spanish-language publication in Southern California, Whitman wrote that there is "very little" that she disagrees with Brown on concerning the hot-button issue of illegal immigration. While both agree that undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to get amnesty or obtain driver's licenses, Brown's camp...

Translation: "No on Prop 187 and No on the Law in Arizona."

It took Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman less than two weeks to hang up her hard line on immigration and to go on Spanish-language TV catering to the Latino vote. It was but one step toward middle ground for a candidate pulled right in the primary. Forget that endorsement from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and those robo calls from former Vice President Dick Cheney. And don't expect to hear any more from former Gov. Pete Wilson, who pleased GOP voters in the Republican primary when he said Whitman would be "tough as nails on illegal immigration," but who is...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman received high-profile support in appearances in Escondido and Fullerton Saturday, with former Gov. Pete Wilson and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney stumping for her. In Fullerton, Whitman appeared in the courtyard of the mission-style Villa Del Sol complex where she made her candidacy official in September. Like that event, several hundred people stood under the baking sun to listen to the candidate. Wilson preceded Romney and called Whitman a threat to public employee unions, warning, "They have a very good reason to be scared to death of Meg Whitman." Whitman has pledged to cut state...

Whitman and Fiorina lead the primaries, according to new poll. "Whitman leads Poizner 53% to 29%, with less than two weeks to go before the June 8 primary, the poll found. But head to head against Brown, she trails 44% to 38%." "In the primary's other highlight, the race for U.S. Senate, Republican Carly Fiorina has vaulted into a clear lead over her main primary opponent Tom Campbell, 38% to 23%. In third was Chuck DeVore at 16%. In March, Campbell had a narrow lead over Fiorina."

Whitman Expands Primary Lead; Fiorina Pulls Out From The Pack In the governor's race Whitman is 24 points ahead of Steve Poizner but 6 points behind Jerry Brown. GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina has clear lead but moderate Tom Campbell fared best against Sen. Barbara Boxer. A recent L.A. Times/USC poll found that more people knew of Meg Whitman in May than in March, yet her favorability rating has stalled with less than a third of voters saying they think well of her. Cathleen Decker May 29, 2010 After plummeting in recent polls, Republican Meg Whitman has regained her commanding...

WASHINGTON – Gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman and U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina have the chance to make history next month by becoming the first women to win the California Republican Party's nomination to the state's highest elected offices. But as their races head for the finish line, both are having a tough time closing the deal with likely female voters, who remain undecided in large numbers and appear poised to determine the outcome of both contests. Judith Brown, a 76-year-old Republican from Napa, says she won't be part of the history-making effort. Brown, a GOP voter for more than 40...

GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner is positively pounding the issue of illegal immigration in his latest ad rotatation -- even as sources say he's pulling TV spots in the Bay Area.

After seeing her huge lead dwindle to two points in the California GOP gubernatorial primary, Meg Whitman has produced a new ad touting her firm stance against illegal immigration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VekQ1F9J-C8&feature=player_embedded Whitman's primary opponent Steve Poizner has been attacking her for opposing the Arizona immigration law. In her new ad, Whitman says she wants national guard troops on the border and opposes amnesty and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, but she doesn't reverse course on the Arizona law.

Madame "Too Busy To Vote Even Though I Had A Household Staff" isn't holding up well now that the people who do vote are paying attention. Meg Whitman would be an absolute disaster for California. At best, she's Arnold Schwarzenegger in drag. At worst, she's a more masculine version of Jerry Brown.

In California Senate primary, Republicans fear RINO label WASHINGTON — In California and across the nation, it's open season on RINOs. For many conservatives, there's nothing worse than being a RINO — that's a Republican In Name Only, a moderate, a politician who's allegedly squishy on core principles and a little too independent. When California Republicans go to the polls to choose a Senate candidate next month, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore says he'll be the only non-RINO on the ballot. He says both of his challengers, former Rep. Tom Campbell and former businesswoman Carly Fiorina, are true RINOS: Campbell because he...

The Republican Meg Whitman, running for governor in California said Arizona is taking the wrong approach....

"As a band of noisy nurses derided her as "Queen Meg," Republican gubernatorial front-runner Meg Whitman brought a quartet of GOP heavy-hitters to the Peninsula on Friday night to raise a half-million dollars for her candidacy. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State George Shultz praised the former eBay CEO as a smart and pragmatic woman who would keep California from plunging over a cliff. "She can get the job done," said Shultz, now a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution."

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ― Republican gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman wrapped up a week of fundraising Friday with help from some big GOP names while facing protests about the amount of money she is spending on her quest for California's highest office. Whitman's political mentor, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, joined her at a donors-only luncheon in Sacramento, where tickets started at $1,000 and went up to $25,900. In the evening, Whitman ended her weeklong fundraising tour at a gala in Redwood City with Romney, former Republican presidential nominee John McCain, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State...

GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, well behind in the polls, has begun airing an ad linking rival Meg Whitman to people and issues unpopular with state Republican voters. Following is the text of the ad and an analysis by Bee Political Editor Amy Chance:TEXT: "Is Meg Whitman your kind of Republican? She supports Obama's amnesty for illegal aliens. Like Schwarzenegger, will continue taxpayer-funded benefits to illegals. A skyrocketing cost under Obamacare. For 28 years Whitman refused to vote Republican. But she contributed to, and campaigned, for Barbara Boxer. Like Boxer, Whitman supports taxpayer-funded abortion. Whitman even supported the disastrous bank...

Republican Meg Whitman's months-long advertising campaign is buying the billionaire, first-time candidate a precious political commodity: name recognition - and a virtual tie with Democrat Jerry Brown, a veteran of 40 years in politics, according to a Field Poll released today on California's gubernatorial race. Whitman, the former eBay CEO who has poured $39 million into her campaign, also continued to thrash her rival in the GOP primary, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Among likely Republican primary voters, 63 percent preferred Whitman to 14 percent for Poizner. Against Brown, the state attorney general and former governor, Whitman led 46 to...

COSTA MESA – In the first gubernatorial debate of the Republican primary, underdog candidate Steve Poizner sought Monday to establish himself as the true conservative of the race while rival Meg Whitman offered more moderate proposals on core GOP issues such as illegal immigration and the state's climate change law. Poizner, the state's insurance commissioner, declared his candidacy "a game-changer" for California and pushed sweeping proposals such as cutting all illegal immigrants from state-funded public services. Whitman proposed more measured fixes such as prohibiting so-called sanctuary cities that don't report illegal immigrants to federal authorities. She also took a softer...

Responding to criticism that she has sidestepped media, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman held an unprecedented, hourlong conversation with news reporters Friday, laying out her positions on state pension reform, prisons and immigration while taking shots at Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican rival Steve Poizner. The billionaire former eBay CEO had her most in-depth exchange with political reporters since she entered the race last year, after arriving to cheers at the state GOP convention at the Santa Clara Hyatt. She later spoke to several hundred delegates after being introduced by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Whitman proposed major reforms to...

SANTA CLARA — Seizing on the issue of illegal immigration, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner stepped up his campaign Friday to persuade California Republicans that he is the true conservative seeking the party’s nomination for governor. At a news conference just prior to former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s speech to the state GOP convention, Poizner called for the elimination of all public services for illegal immigrants that are under the control of the state and pledged to lobby for federal changes so that schools could turn illegal immigrant children from their doors. “We should move that forward,” he said of the...

WALNUT CREEK — Gays and lesbians should be allowed to adopt, but not marry. Illegal immigration is a huge problem, but immigrant children shouldn't be punished for the sins of their parents. And California is a mess, but that doesn't mean it's going to fail. In her first major interview since kicking her campaign into high gear, Meg Whitman, the front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, revealed her views on issues ranging from the "right to carry" movement to offshore oil drilling, Sarah Palin, the state budget and education reform. Whitman, the former eBay chief, has been under attack by...