Republican candidates Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman may have been jousting over which one is the real conservative in their race for their party’s nomination for California governor, but they may have to rein in after the June 8 primary.
The primary winner will have to edge away from the conservative label because of the risk of being too right for California, according to a report in
The Sacramento Bee.
The redirection will be necessary because the candidate will need substantial independent support in a state where GOP voter registration is less than 31 percent.
Poizner will have a bigger challenge in appealing to the center because he has spent considerable time developing conservative credibility on issues, the Bee reported. Whitman was able to take moderate positions because she enjoyed a primary lead once as large as 50 percentage points, the newspaper reported.
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