A round-up of the week's developments in the California Gubernatorial race, as Newsom's withdrawal shakes things up and the other candidates put together their teams:
For a man who has yet to formally declare his intention to run for governor, Jerry Brown has wasted no time lining up a roster of power player Hollywood supporters. The Sacramento Bee reports
If the entertainment industry were allowed to pick California's next governor, there would be no contest: Jerry Brown would win by a landslide.
That was made clear this past week as the 71-year-old attorney general was feted by industry leaders at an event raising more than $1 million...
Among those who have contributed to Brown are producer and director Steve Bing, singer Don Henley, Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner and DreamWorks SKG founders Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
The Capitol Weekly explores the implications of Gavin Newsom's sudden withdrawal from the race:
Conventional wisdom holds that uncontested primaries are good for political parties, and their candidates. Without a primary race, a candidate is free to raise and save money, and does not get bloodied by a member of their own party. But there is another school of thought that uncontested primaries are dangerous for candidates, that complacency and overconfidence can set in, while the other party's candidate is battle-tested in a tough primary race.
As for Whitman, she raised more than a few eyebrows with her latest move to upgrade her talent pool. The LA Times reveals that her new campaign adviser is no stranger to California politics, having recently worked for her opponent.
Republican Meg Whitman announced today that she has hired top GOP strategist Mike Murphy to her growing campaign for California governor, calling him a "trusted friend."
But Murphy, a former confidant of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, worked hand-in-glove with one of Whitman's chief opponents, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, less than 16 months ago.