Neel Kashkari provides Republicans with an excellent opportunity to take the Governors mansion. Posted on 06/04/2014 4:23:14 AM PDT by dignitasnews
Neel Kashkari provides Republicans with an excellent opportunity to take the Governors mansion.
In California's Tuesday elections, Republican Gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari outlasted a stiff challenge from Tim Donnelly to head into a November showdown against incumbent Jerry Brown. In other notable races, former NFL player Damon Dunn fell just short in his bid for the Long Beach Mayor's office, while contraception cover-girl Sandra Fluke appears to be heading a second place finish the 26th District State Assembly race, which will qualify her for Novembers general election.
With nearly 99% of all precincts reporting, Kashkari held an apparently insurmountable lead over Donnelly, capturing 594,849 votes (19%) against Donnelly's 465,302 (14.9%) in California's open primary system. The 40-year-old son of Indian immigrants will take on incumbent Governor Jerry Brown, who secured his place in Novembers general election with 54.5% of the overall vote.
Neel Kashkari burst onto the political scene following a successful career in the private sector, which included stints as a mechanical engineer and investment banking. Despite Brown's notoriety and experience, the charismatic and telegenic GOP challenger could provide Republicans with a solid chance to retake the Governors mansion in the heavily Democratic state.
Born and raised in Ohio to Kashmiri Pandit parents, he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering. He moved to California and began working for NASA contractor TRW, Inc. where he worked on the James Webb Space Telescope, developing a component meant to steady and reduce vibration upon deployment. He then followed a growing interest in finance and obtained his MBA from the Warton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He then entered a second career in investment banking for Goldman Sachs, dealing mainly with software companies.
At Goldman's, he caught the attention of CEO and Chairman Hank Paulson, who took Kashkari with him to Washington when Paulson was named Secretary of the Treasury in 2006. He named Kashkari his special assistant on energy policy, where he helped to develop President George W Bush's energy conservation initiative as well as international infrastructure development, assisting US allies including India. His impressive work was recognize by Bush, who in 2007 named him as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development.
During the height of the subprime mortgage meltdown and the financial crisis it triggered, Kashkari was instrumental in the "Hope Now Alliance," which aimed at reducing foreclosures by modifying loan terms for qualified distressed homeowners. He clashed with Paulson in 2008, arguing that if the Bush administration did not receive the proper authority needed to deal with financial meltdown the next administration would ultimately blame Bush for the entire crisis. He proved to be quite prophetic in predicting then-Senator Barack Obama would both win the Democratic nomination over Hillary Clinton and would use the crisis to take the White House that November, subsequently further crippling the economy by laying blame on Republicans and using the crisis as a precursor for further government intrusion into the economy.
While his support for gay marriage and unclear positions on abortion have put him at odds with social conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts within the party, his fiscal positions and aversion to government regulation helped him overcome some of those opposition and as the night wore on it became more and more apparent he was pulling away from Donnelly, who boasted strong pro-life and traditional marriage credentials. The aforementioned social positions may help him overcome liberal efforts to paint him as "too conservative" for California, with its large gay population and generally left-leaning positions on many social issues. In a state suffering economically from decades of Democratic control, his pro-growth philosophy could make him a formidable opponent against current Governor Jerry Brown, whose popularity has suffered due the states economic malaise.
In other high profile races Tuesday:
Former NFL player and protegee of Condoleezza Rice fell short in his Mayoral bid in the city Long Beach. The Stanford University graduate fell in a tight race against Robert Garcia. Barring any changes, Garcia secured 52.1% of the vote, against Dunn's 47.9%. The Dunn campaign suffered from a lack of sustained momentum, despite initial confidence. He initially secured the strong support of local Republicans, but appeared to distance himself from the party label, concerned that this might prove to be a hindrance with certain demographic groups in the city. This decision proved to be fatal, as it caused conservatives and moderates alike to question his ability to carry the GOP message into minority neighborhoods and grow the party's base. Current City Councilman Garcia enjoyed strong support and cooperation from the city's large gay gay and lesbian community, from which he counts himself a member. This proved to be a key factor in his razor thin victory over Dunn, who experts believe could have been victorious with a more organized and enthusiastic ground game.
Damon Dunn's decision to obscure his Republican identification turned out to a bad decision.
In the states 26th Senatorial District, contraception cover-girl Sandra Fluke appears to be headed to the November general election with a 2nd place showing in the westside areas primary race Tuesday. The first-time candidate utilized the national attention she received as a result of her testimony in Washington DC, where she called on the government to provide free birth control via health insurance regulations. That and the subsequent media storm following conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh's critique of Fluke brought her into the national limelight, which she parlayed into a successful fund-raising effort. She received 19.4% of the vote in the heavily liberal district, finishing in second place to fellow Democrat Ben Allen, who she will face off against in November. The Republicans did not field a candidate for this race.
Sandra Fluke's national attention helped her secure a place in November's general election.
Overall, GOP hopes in the state appear to be improving, although it will take more than one election cycle to transform a state in which Democrats have dominated the political scene for than a decade. A sagging economy however, and numerous high-profile criminal probes into nefarious Democratic activities have given conservatives hope that a new band of leaders can help reverse the fortunes of both the party and the states fiscal well-being. In securing his place for the November Governors race Tuesday, Republicans may have just found this new leader in the person of Neel Kashkari.
By Dignitas News Service
Sources:
CaliforniaStateGovernorsReturns CaliforniaStateDistrictReturns CityofLongBeach NeelKashkari
In other election night news, Long Beach Mayoral candidate Damon Dunn's decision to obscure his Republican identification proved to be fatal, while contraception cover-girl Sandra Fluke earned a place in November's general election with a second place showing in the 26th Senatorial district race.
I like the Fluke-Obama photo. He may be the only man she’s ever met without providing the extra attention that costs her $3,000 a year in medical bills.
He’s ‘our’ candidate now.
But a perfect example of the even supposedly economically-only conservatives who aren’t even that. He is pro-amnesty—which will make even bothering to have a GOP candidate a moot point anyway—and his big reform for CA’s economy is to give a 10-year tax advantage to companies that newly move to CA. How’d you like to be a long-suffering CA business having to face that new competition?
Another example is Jim Pethakoukis, who is on the NYTimes op ed page today advocating higher taxes for the support of more entitlements. He’d call himself ‘right of center’ and he also postures as an economist.
One more example would be Arthur Brooks, the head of the supposedly libertarian AEI. He’s a former musician who uses a third-rate MA in econ and a PhD in policy to posture as an economist as well, and he’s always for the bigger government program to show our social sympathies.
One can tell by those upper arms that she's going to be a cow in ten years. Me thinks her medical bills are going to decrease significantly.
you mean that costs the taxpayers an extra $3000 a year, not her.
All those illegal aliens that Kashkari was courting will be voting against him in Nov. They vote for the Democrats and Free Stuff.
I think you’re off about her becoming a cow in 10 years as she is a PIG right NOW! In 10 years she will just be a big fat pig!
That Kookifornicate is one fluked up state of dysfunction. Condolences to our conservative remnants who reside there. The geezer Moonbeam will be recrowned because he wears the holy Dem label whereas Mr. Karry Kash will be Meg Whitmanized at the ballot box. Wish I was wrong about it and will gladly eat the crow if not.
Another second generation with no military service. I assume that military service in the family amounts to zero.
I’ll be voting for the American Independent candidate this year.
I don’t vote for the Democrate-barely light candidate anymore.
The GOP can go pound sound unless they actually field AND support a conservative candidate.
IOW, he's an Andrew Cuomo Republican.
Excellent choice.
Neel Nobody from Nowhere is entirely a creation of the Bush family and the RNC.
From the smear flyer they sent out bashing Tim Donnelly to the goofball ads for Kash’N’Karry it was an Astroturf campaign. No one knows him, cares about him, or wants to be ruled by him. His votes are from people who were simply uninformed.
Really like to thank the RINOs for splitting the fading Republican vote in California. Mad Geezer Brown wins by default.
That’s about right.
I don’t understand the argument that the RINOs are somehow at fault for running a candidate and winning.
If you assume its true that no one knows him, but he beat the other guy, maybe a majority knew all they wanted to about Donelly and voted against him?
Isn’t that what politics is all about? You have elections and someone wins and someone loses.
They won nothing. Donnelly had only the visibility he could generate from the press, which is openly hostile.
And he was attacked in a flyer that went to every registered Republican in this state. Signed by pete wilson and your buddy jeb “terri’s gotta die” Bush.
Smear campaign against other Republicans. When did they do that to Brown?
You believe whatcha want, Bubba. Dont mean i got to vote for it.
All we can do now is vote for Neel—and pray he wins over the Teacher’s Union man—Brown. The teacher’s Union are the new “Big Four” they run the state better than the old Railroad tycoons of the past. No one stands a chance against them. Given time they will ban Republicans as a Hate Group in the next few years. California will become an all Spanish—all Liberal—all Progressive People’s Republic. (It even has a Red star on the Flag).
Don’t care how you vote. I was Just trying to see if there is any logic behind your assertions that all the other side’s voters were uninformed?
Where on earth did you get the idea I like Jeb Bush? I think it very uninformed of you to come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn’t think like you must be for a ‘bogey man’ of your own device. Ad hominum attacks are always weak, BUBBA.
There seems to be a persistent strain of elitism—”We know best”—on the right wing that anyone who doesn’t agree with them is ignorant or a conscious agent of anti-American ideologies. This far-right elitism is perfectly mirrored by the ideologues on the left.
Don’t care how you vote. I was Just trying to see if there is any logic behind your assertions that all the other side’s voters were uninformed?
Where on earth did you get the idea I like Jeb Bush? I think it very uninformed of you to come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn’t think like you must be for a ‘bogey man’ of your own device. Ad hominum attacks are always weak, BUBBA.
There seems to be a persistent strain of elitism—”We know best”—on the right wing that anyone who doesn’t agree with them is ignorant or a conscious agent of anti-American ideologies. This far-right elitism is perfectly mirrored by the ideologues on the left.
Dead On.
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