Golden Boy

THE small propeller plane trailing a “Lungren for Governor” banner circled in the cloudless blue sky over the San Diego Convention Center an hour before the candidates’ first debate in the most important campaign this year. If any of the Californians down below unlaced their rollerblades or docked their windsurfers to watch the face-off, they saw Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren handily trounce Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis in the first of five scheduled debates. The following morning, the Sun Diego Union-Tribune declared, “Dan Lungren wanted 18 debates. Gray Davis wanted only five. Now we know why.”

Lungren and Davis both want the second-biggest prize in American politics: the governorship of California. Winning the top spot in the most populous state of the Union is particularly important this year. The contest has been called “the most important congressional race of 1998” because the governor will preside over California’s redistricting following the 2000 census, with six to eight congressional seats in the balance. Current governor Pete Wilson bluntly states, “Without a Republican governor, there’s no hope for a fair and honest reapportionment.”

About the Author

Kate O'Beirne

Featured Tags

THE small propeller plane trailing a “Lungren for Governor” banner circled in the cloudless blue sky over the San Diego Convention Center an hour before the candidates’ first debate in the most important campaign this year. If any of the Californians down below unlaced their rollerblades or docked their windsurfers to watch the face-off, they saw Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren handily trounce Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis in the first of five scheduled debates. The following morning, the Sun Diego Union-Tribune declared, “Dan Lungren wanted 18 debates. Gray Davis wanted only five. Now we know why.”

Lungren and Davis both want the second-biggest prize in American politics: the governorship of California. Winning the top spot in the most populous state of the Union is particularly important this year. The contest has been called “the most important congressional race of 1998” because the governor will preside over California’s redistricting following the 2000 census, with six to eight congressional seats in the balance. Current governor Pete Wilson bluntly states, “Without a Republican governor, there’s no hope for a fair and honest reapportionment.”