Experts Expound

“Jackie Speier, who spent two decades in the Legislature before going to Congress, reportedly is pondering a race for state Attorney General. Does she run? Can she win?”

I certainly wouldn’t jump into the race if I were her.  It is a crowded field already in the Dem. Primary.  She doesn’t jump to mind as a law enforcement candidate.  Her consumer protection credentials are good but Congress seems a better fit for her.  She is a good campaigner but can’t run as an outsider and breaking out of the pack in the primary will be tough and cost a lot of money.

She could win, but why would she give up her seat for an eight-year job?

Jackie who? Does anyone remember her? Does anyone in Southern California even know who she is or what she’s been doing lately?

While it’s always good to test the water Jackie is too smart to give up a safe Congressional seat for a run at AG in an uncertain political year. No, she does not run.
In a wide open field, she would have a legitimate shot at winning.

Anybody can win the primary if you have seven Democrats running. But the female pole position in that mix is already taken by Kamala Harris, who shares a base with Speier.

It’s a matter of who can get the financial resources to run a statewide campaign. Speier would be an attractive candidate except that she has no prosecutorial experience.

Speier would make a terrific A.G. She’s feisty, does her homework and would make an excellent prospect to deepen the bench of California Democrats.

With Speier in the race, it would mean that Rocky wins the Democratic Primary.  Not enough air in the room for both Speier and Harris in the Bay Area.
She runs and she wins. The three Assemblymen running can then continue their work for CCPOA.

What’s amazing here is that anyone would want to leave a lifetime job in Congress and come back to this mess. That alone makes me want to vote for her.
It speaks volumes about the current pool of AG candidates. That being said, she could win but does not run.

Speier has more upside than most any elected official on the Democrat side of the aisle.  She would be even with Jerry Brown right now in the race for Governor if she just would have picked up the phone and talked Liz Figueroa out of the primary for Lt. Gov.

With no superstar in the race for AG now, she could come in and win fairly easily.

The recent poll certainly broke in her favor. As for political smarts, she’s aggressive and a proven fund-raiser. Motive? Ambition: Speier is the definition of an obscure member of Congress, and Jackie Speier has never seen herself as “obscure.”

She cannot win.  She represents one 53rd of California, and no one in big bad Los Angeles has ever heard of her, as she found out last time she ran statewide.

Kamala Harris, while not well known yet by average voters in Southern Cal, has an incredibly strong fundraising and political network keyed in on her race for AG. She won’t shy away from a challenge by Jackie Speier. If Speier enters the race, expect a fierce fight and the possibility of one of The Guys emerging with a narrow primary win.

Why, oh why, with the dearth of great candidates for other offices, would she jump in the one race with smart, qualified candidates? She should run for Governor and make it interesting.

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