Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Gubernatorial Candidates Make Final Push

The two major party candidates for Governor are working feverishly to get people to the polls tomorrow.

Both Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman are on whirlwind tours of California.

When Election Day dawns, Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman will each have made more than a dozen stops during the final three days of their campaigns. Over the weekend, Whitman’s schedule included Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego and this rally in Sacramento:

Advertisement

“We have an opportunity to elect the first woman governor of the state of California,” said Whitman.

Whitman hit her major policy points, such as cutting government spending, no new taxes and fighting the unions to change the pension system. But she also downplayed the polls that now put her significantly behind Brown.

“This election is going to turn on who turns out to the polls and right now, don’t believe the stuff you read, we are in a dead heat race and on Tuesday if we’re in a deadbeat race and you and all your friends, relatives and colleagues turn out, we win,” said Brown.

Inger Bisson says she’ll be casting her vote for Whitman because of her emphasis on promoting business interests. She brought her miniature poodle, Tiffany, to the rally, and says the dog is helping her spread the word:

“She’s got her little gold lame coat on so I can put stickers on and take her for walks and promote Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina,” Bisson said.

Advertisement

At a park in mid-town Sacramento, Democrats handed out stickers and yard signs of their own during a rally featuring Jerry Brown.

Valerie Cooper is a volunteer who’s planning to vote for Brown because of his political experience. “He’s been in the trenches before and I just feel like he can come in and really make a difference and really help this state get back on board for where we need to be.”

Brown, a former governor, played up his experience to the crowd of several hundred. But he also downplayed expectations.

“We don’t want to get too exuberant,” he said, “because this is real life and real life gets to be kind of messy. We take couple steps forward and we take a step back but we keep going and we keep persisting and that’s kind of the way I’ve lived my life.”

Brown also joked about how he’ll solve some of the tough issues facing the state by getting Democrats and Republicans together.

“They’re all going to get in a big circle and sing Kum Ba Yah together. They’re all going to be happy. Going to play the banjo and we’ll light some candles. They’re going to walk out of there and say, God, how did this happen?”

Not surprisingly, both Brown and Whitman also used their speeches to beat up on each other. The race has been not only the most expensive in state history – but also one of the most negative.

Voters will have the final say tomorrow.

The two major party candidates for Governor are working feverishly to get people to the polls tomorrow.

Both Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman are on whirlwind tours of California. As part of our Election 2010 coverage, Marianne Russ has more on the final campaign push.

When Election Day dawns, Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman will each have made more than a dozen stops during the final three days of their campaigns. Over the weekend, Whitman’s schedule included Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego and this rally in Sacramento:

“We have an opportunity to elect the first woman governor of the state of California,” said Whitman.

Whitman hit her major policy points, such as cutting government spending, no new taxes and fighting the unions to change the pension system. But she also downplayed the polls that now put her significantly behind Brown.

“This election is going to turn on who turns out to the polls and right now, don’t believe the stuff you read, we are in a dead heat race and on Tuesday if we’re in a deadbeat race and you and all your friends, relatives and colleagues turn out, we win,” said Brown.

Inger Bisson says she’ll be casting her vote for Whitman because of her emphasis on promoting business interests. She brought her miniature poodle, Tiffany, to the rally, and says the dog is helping her spread the word:

“She’s got her little gold lame coat on so I can put stickers on and take her for walks and promote Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina,” Bisson said.

At a park in mid-town Sacramento, Democrats handed out stickers and yard signs of their own during a rally featuring Jerry Brown.

Valerie Cooper is a volunteer who’s planning to vote for Brown because of his political experience. “He’s been in the trenches before and I just feel like he can come in and really make a difference and really help this state get back on board for where we need to be.”

Brown, a former governor, played up his experience to the crowd of several hundred. But he also downplayed expectations.

“We don’t want to get too exuberant,” he said, “because this is real life and real life gets to be kind of messy. We take couple steps forward and we take a step back but we keep going and we keep persisting and that’s kind of the way I’ve lived my life.”

Brown also joked about how he’ll solve some of the tough issues facing the state by getting Democrats and Republicans together.

“They’re all going to get in a big circle and sing Kum Ba Yah together. They’re all going to be happy. Going to play the banjo and we’ll light some candles. They’re going to walk out of there and say, God, how did this happen?”

Not surprisingly, both Brown and Whitman also used their speeches to beat up on each other. The race has been not only the most expensive in state history – but also one of the most negative.

Voters will have the final say tomorrow.