Bill Whelan of the Hoover

Bill Whelan of the Hoover Institution reports on the Callifornia gubernatorial race. A federal judge has released letters from attorneys representing a convicted state coastal commissioner alleging that, a decade ago, he and Gray Davis schemed to obtain campaign donations from developers in exchange for political favors. However, Whelan questions whether these allegations, though shocking, will have shock value, since this is what voters have come to expect from Governor Davis. The most recent poll shows Davis leading Republican Bill Simon by ten percentage points, but stuck at only 41 percent. Perhaps the most significant point in Whelan’s piece relates to voter turnout. According to Whelan, next Tuesday’s vote will challenge the midterm electin of 1942, when only 35.7 percent of voters participated, as the lowest attended election in American history. This could give the Republicans an advantage in California and elsewhere.