California politics is dominated by a diverse, largely urban electorate. The California GOP, however, has boxed itself in to the rural parts of the state and the exurbs of places like the Inland Empire, east San Diego County, the Central Valley, etc.
There are a lot of people in my area (Silicon Valley) who would be willing to vote for someone like Tom Campbell again. But the CA GOP is just too far right for most of us.
I've heard that Campbell is a social liberal and fiscal conservative; is that true, or is it an over-simplification? For instance, is he opposed to the Californian regulatory regime (environmental or labor) or is he really a fiscal moderate who tries not to step on the toes of entrenched Californian interests groups?
No, that's a fair statement to make. He's very conservative on fiscal issues and is actually rather libertarian overall. This puts him in line with many of Silicon Valley's voters.
