With big-name Democrats passing up the chance to make a run at ousting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the party's June primary is taking shape as a race between two virtual unknowns who appear headed toward a harsh campaign that some party leaders fear could benefit the Republican incumbent.
"The Democrats can't afford a bitter and nasty campaign," said state party Chairman Art Torres. "The voters will be turned off by that."
Both Democrats -- state Treasurer Phil Angelides and Controller Steve Westly -- hold obscure jobs that draw scant public attention. That void offers opportunity to both, but is fraught with danger too. When Californians start to tune in to their campaign for the nomination, each will be striving to introduce himself before the other defines him as unfit to lead the state. Foreshadowing a spiteful race ahead, both have launched efforts to undercut the other's credibility.
The opening of what looks, for now, to be a two-man Democratic contest comes as Schwarzenegger prepares to unveil a 2006 agenda in January that will serve as a roadmap to his reelection campaign. Wounded by voters' rejection last month of his ballot measures, the Republican incumbent will propose billions of dollars in public construction projects with potential appeal beyond his conservative base.
Low poll ratings notwithstanding, the governor still holds key advantages over both Democrats: the vast powers of incumbency, a bold personality and a name well known to voters.
At first glance, the similarities between Angelides and Westly are striking: both are white men who became rich in private business and toiled for years in the trenches of party politics before winning election to statewide finance jobs.
For the most part, Angelides and Westly have taken similar stands on high-profile issues. Both favor abortion rights, gun control and gay marriage. Both have been forceful advocates of environmental protection. Both have championed organized labor.
Both are also strangers to most Californians: a Times Poll in October found 70% of likely voters knew too little about Angelides to have a good or bad impression of him, and 83% drew a blank on Westly.
The biggest policy issue on which they differ has been taxes.
Westly has resisted most calls for higher taxes, although he supports a June ballot measure to raise income taxes on the wealthy to fund universal preschool. He casts himself as the moderate in the race.
