ShareThisFrom Bill Clinton to Pete Wilson to Jimmy Carter, Jerry Brown has faced some of the country's toughest politicians in his 40 years of public life and become one of California's most venerable political figures in the process.
This election year, however, the 72-year-old is taking on what may be his most fearsome rival ever as he vies to return to the governor's office.
The Democrat is going up against billionaire Republican nominee Meg Whitman and the powerful, well-financed campaign machine that she's built over the past 18 months.
The Whitman campaign flexed its muscles this week by demolishing rival Steve Poizner by a whopping 37 percentage points, one of the biggest margins of victory ever recorded in a governor's race. Brown faced no major challenge for the Democratic nomination and easily won his race.
Whitman's campaign obliterated campaign spending records in the primary by burning through about $90 million, including $71 million of the candidate's own money, to win the GOP nomination.
In her victory speech this week, Whitman left no doubt that she was willing to do -- and spend -- whatever it would take to beat Brown in November.
"This gal is on a mission," Whitman told hundreds of pumped-up supporters. "And I am all in."
Some Democratic insiders, including former Gray Davis consultant Garry South, have pointed out that Brown won most of his campaigns against lesser candidates while falling to the tougher ones -- including Clinton, Wilson and Carter.
Whitman is also the kind of moderate, pro-abortion rights Republican who's won the governor's office before. She's focused her campaign on three issues -- jobs, state spending and schools -- designed to hold broad appeal.
Brown, however, still leads Whitman in one-to-one matchups in public opinion polls and could win if he maneuvers wisely over the next five months, political observers said.
Veteran Democratic consultant Darry Sragow said he believed Brown was up to the task.
"He was raised in politics," Sragow said. "He's been involved in public policy his whole life. He knows every trick in the book."
To win, Brown will have to make good use of limited resources and hope his union allies come through for him, as they've promised to do, through independent expenditure committees. Brown's campaign had $20.6 million in cash on hand as of May 22 and had spent less than $400,000.
Brown's success also depends on whether Whitman can avoid the trap of past wealthy self-financed candidates who flooded the airwaves with ads only to become known for their profligate spending, said Renee Van Vechten, assistant professor of political science at the University of Redlands.
In one ominous sign for Whitman, her spending didn't appear to produce much excitement among state Republicans, who largely stayed away from the polls this week. Whitman ended up paying an astounding $80 per vote, based on preliminary returns, and won only after engaging in a bruising battle with Poizner that forced her to tack right on issues such as immigration.
"Those with more money and are able to spend it don't necessarily win," Van Vechten said. "It doesn't guarantee you the seat. In the end, if more people don't agree with Meg Whitman's views, they won't vote for her."
Perhaps the biggest advantage for Brown is the state's demographics, with Democrats making up 44 percent of registered voters and Republicans 31 percent. Among the fifth of state voters registered as independents, many of them lean Democratic on social and other issues, according to a Field Poll study released last year.
"Given the advantages, I'd still rather be the candidate with $100 million," said UC San Diego political science professor Thad Kousser. "I think Jerry's got to start tomorrow reintroducing himself to the California electorate."
Brown did just that this week by holding a news conference in Los Angeles where he tried to make Whitman's spending an issue. He also invited Whitman to join him at 10 town halls around the state to discuss policy. Whitman, the former CEO of online auction firm eBay, demanded that he first get more specific on policy.
"She has a record, too," Brown told a huge throng of reporters. "She talks about waste and abuse. She paid herself $120 million, and eBay had to lay off 10 percent of its work force."
Whitman aimed her own arrows at Brown during a state GOP victory rally at the Hilton hotel in Anaheim, where she criticized him for being a career politician indebted to his union allies.
"People ask me all the time, 'Can elections be bought?' " Whitman told hundreds of people at the rally. "The answer is elections cannot be bought, but candidates can, and Jerry Brown is bought and paid for by the union bosses."
The unions have in fact helped lead the anti-Whitman charge, sparked in large part by ire over her pledges to cut 40,000 state employee jobs if she's elected.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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