Whitman, like Poizner, could face a difficult Republican primary against a conservative candidate such as State Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). "It will be very difficult for her to explain to primary voters why she and Steve Poizner are different in any respect other than gender," Schnur said.
Former Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim, who was among those who encouraged Schwarzenegger to leave Hollywood for politics, says he sees Whitman as a potential candidate.
Sundheim is leading an effort to find candidates for 2010 and is talking to people inside and outside politics, including nontraditional candidates who are wealthy enough to finance their own campaigns, according to people who have spoken with him. Three sources said Whitman is among the candidates with whom he has talked.
"I've heard from others that Meg may have an interest in running for office someday," Sundheim said in an interview Thursday.
"We have many excellent potential candidates and I think Meg could be one of those candidates, and I hope she seriously considers it."
Margaret C. "Meg" Whitman, a 51-year-old New York native, joined EBay as its president and chief executive in 1998, when the online auction company had 30 employees and annual revenues of $4 million, according to a biography posted on the company's website. The company now has 15,000 employees globally.
Whitman said Wednesday that she would retire from EBay on March 31.
Since launching her career at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati in 1979, Whitman has spent her professional life in the corporate sector, as an executive at toy maker Hasbro, Florists Transworld Delivery, Stride Rite Corp. and the Walt Disney Co.
She did her undergraduate work at Princeton and later earned a master's degree at Harvard Business School.
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joe.mathews@latimes.com
