Last seen withdrawing from the California Gubernatorial primary against a not-yet-officially-announced Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has entered the fray for the second spot on the ballot: Lieutenant Governor.
Why should anyone care? Well, first of all, because the Lieutenant Governor is not an entirely useless post: it comes with ex officio positions on important boards such as the State Lands Commission and the University of California Board of Regents. But with Jerry Brown uncontested at the top of the ticket, the Lieutenant Governor's race is the highest-profile contested election on the Democratic Primary ballot this June--and Democrats are going to counted on to show up in June to support some really good measures on the statewide ballot, and defeat some really ugly ones.
Newsom still has good name recognition and a decent base of support owing to his failed run for Governor earlier in the year, and his entry into the Lt. Gov. race has prompted State Senator Dean Florez to drop out--leaving the voters to decide between Newsom and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who is seeking to be the first female Lieutenant Governor in the history of the State.
This race is going to be the top race to watch in the Democratic Primary--not only because it's the most top-tier, but also because it's likely to see some sparks. Garry South, who has a reputation as a hard-hitting consultant, used to work for Newsom's Gubernatorial campaign--and he now works for Janice Hahn.
No statistically reliable polls have been done on this race yet, but I would expect Newsom to have an initial lead based on name recognition, while Hahn will spend the campaign trying to increase her own name ID and drive up Newsom's negatives.
Meanwhile, there are some in San Francisco who are pulling for Newsom--just so he won't be mayor any more. That's not a good sign. Either way, it's a shame that when we really need Democratic turnout in California, this race is the best we can do for top-tier.