The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that former House member Tom Campbell is leaving his bid for the Republican nomination for Governor in order to enter the Republican Senate primary:
Campbell has scheduled two news conferences to make the announcement: one at 9 a.m. in Los Angeles, the other at 2:30 p.m. at the San Jose Fairmont hotel, according to an e-mail from Campbell's campaign that was sent Monday to his major supporters. The e-mail referred to a "soon to be announced new venture" — confirmed by campaign sources to be a Senate run.
This now leaves former eBay CEO "Talk to Meg" Whitman to go head-to-head with Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a campaign that will involve much self-financing of both campaigns. It's likely the prospect of facing two deep-pocketed candidates fueled Campbell's decision to switch races.
In the Senate Republican race, Campbell will be facing Carly "Carlyfornia!" Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett-Packard, and right-wing Assemblyman Chuck DeVore from Orange County.
Campbell has run for the Senate twice and lost both times -- the first in 1992 when he lost in the Republican primary eventually won by Barbara Boxer, and again in 2000 when he won the primary but lost in the general to Dianne Feinstein. And he'll face an uphill battle again; first in the primary where he'll be competing against a wealthy candidate in Fiorina while trying to convince the ultra-right supporters of Campbell DeVore to support him instead, then in the general where he'll be up against a still-popular incumbent in Boxer, and while his generally fiscal conservative, social moderate stance would stand up well against Boxer, it might be enough to keep many of the California tea party contingent home on Election Day.
Things may have just gotten a bit more interesting in both California races.