The California Conundrum

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? California, site of two major battleground races, will offer the rest of the nation a unique perspective into this age-old question on November 2nd. In a state notorious for its political gridlock and powerful Democratic Party control, Republicans are looking to make major gains at both the state and federal level. As the fifty-five percent of their population that is registered to vote heads to the polls on Election Day, the rest of the nation will be watching and waiting as Democratic establishment heavy weights take on Republican political newcomers in the Golden State's gubernatorial and senatorial elections. In the race for the governor's mansion, Princeton University and Harvard Business School graduate Meg Whitman takes on Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown. The seventy-two year old Brown, a product of the powerful California Democratic Party machine, was thought to be facing an uphill battle in a year marked with stark anti-incumbency sentiment. On the contrary, the lifelong liberal politician has surged in the polls since the primary election and now commands a modest single digit lead heading into the all-important final week. Whitman takes the adversity in stride, the former CEO of eBay and executive for Hasbro, Proctor & Gamble, and DreamWorks, understands the power of perseverance as the first Tuesday in November draws near. Fighting for every last vote, Whitman has spent over $118 Million out of pocket on her bid, and will not rest until she has reached the finish line and is named governor-elect of California. Determined to halt the pattern of out-of-touch career politicians, Whitman has pleaded with her fellow Californians that only a person with the acute private sector background she possesses, can lead the state from fiscal turmoil, to prosperity. Brown rebuts and continues to build on his momentum as he counters that it is in fact the billionaire Whitman that is out of touch with the average Californian. That the only candidate in the race for governor standing up for the values of all, is in fact he. Straying from the issues themselves, choosing to focus instead on the Republican, has been a strategic maneuver used by Democrats nationwide, and one that has made Brown the candidate to beat as we enter the final days. The senatorial race tells a very similar story, as D.C. Democrat Barbara Boxer faces stiff opposition in the form of former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Boxer, a symbol of progressivism in America and a staunch advocate of the Obama Administration, has become vulnerable in a year that the Republicans are looking to take control and majority of the United States Senate. Winning her last reelection by twenty percentage points, Boxer's margins are a fraction of that number, as recent polling has the race tightly within the margin of error. Democrats have had control over this seat since 1969, and while they have little intension of giving it up, the vox populi is clear and the status quo is no longer acceptable. In similar fashion to the gubernatorial race, jabs have been exchanged by each candidate as they jockey for popular approval. Boxer paints Fiorina as a ruthless CEO who is more concerned with her wallet than the overall welfare of Californian residents. In a year characterized by cynicism, these blatant political misnomers are fooling no one. Fiorina has a history of job creation, and the reputation of a fighter who will be ready to work for the people of California from the very day she steps foot in Washington.