California Going Red in 2010?

A recent poll shows that Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are ahead in the polls: 

"Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer remains locked in a tight fight with Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KABC-TV Los Angeles, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KGTV-TV San Diego, and KFSN-TV Fresno. 3 identical SurveyUSA tracking polls have shown the contest within the theoretical margin of sampling error, though, in all 3 cases, the Republican has been nominally ahead, confounding many observers and, for now, preserving the possibility of a take-away. Today, it's Fiorina 48%, Boxer 46%. There is movement, or perhaps statistical noise, among Hispanic voters.

In the contest for Governor of California, it's Republican Meg Whitman 47%, Democrat Jerry Brown 40% today. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll 3 weeks ago, Whitman is up 3, Brown is down 3. But, compared to a SurveyUSA poll 7 weeks ago: no change. Among men, the race has been flat since polling began in July, with Whitman at 50% in each poll, and Brown at 35% to 37%. Among women, more volatility, with Brown 13 points atop Whitman 3 weeks ago, but tied with the former eBay CEO both 7 weeks ago and today."

The idea of Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina winning in 2010 raises some interesting questions:  Is California finally turning red a permanent or temporary change for California? Will this change trickle down to the state and local level in which people will elect republicans to Sacramento? What are the implications for the 2012 elections?

I don't know the answers to some of these questions. Time will only tell. However, I think I know what a Meg Whitman victory will mean for the 2012 Presidential election. It will be a game changer for all Republican contenders. 

However, the person who might benefit from a red California with Meg Whitman as the Governor will be Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney and Meg Whitman have known each other for a long time and have been supportive of each other in their business and political careers. She worked for Bain and Company, which Mitt Romney was one of the founders of that company. She worked on Mitt Romney's 2008 Presidential campaign first on the  Finance co-chair of Romney's exploratory committee and later as the was on his National Finance Team. 

In return for Meg's support during Romney's 2008, Mitt has been a strong supporter of her bid to become the next California Governor. If she wins, she will most likely work hard to help Mitt Romney win that state in 2012 if Mitt does decide to run for President. And if he does run against Barak Obama, he could use California's 55 electoral votes to win the White House.

Hopefully, California will stay red for 2012.