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alifornia Republicans woke up Wednesday with a political hangover. Nationally, they celebrated the GOP's taking control of Congress, but their dismal showing in California gave them a lingering headache. Many of them wondered how they missed the national wave - and differed on which direction to go next. They lost nearly every statewide office, drubbed by double digits in most of the races. Meg Whitman couldn't win the governorship despite straddling the political middle and spending a record $160 million. Carly Fiorina couldn't roust Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, despite tacking right and exploiting Boxer's low approval ratings.For months, party officials...

The federal government has jumped up to join the defense in a lawsuit in California that challenges the eligibility of a Republican candidate in the race for secretary of state, filing a demand that the dispute be moved from state court to U.S. District Court. The case, filed pro se by Pamela Barnett, was launched to challenge the eligibility of Damon Dunn as a candidate in the Republican primary for the state office that oversees all elections. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=193461

An energized state Republican party launched the general election campaign this morning at a victory rally at the Hilton hotel in Anaheim. The theme of the day and perhaps of the campaign: The GOP nominees represent new blood while the Democratic ticket is dominated by career politicians. Without a doubt, the GOP ticket is its most diverse in years in ethnicity and gender. It's led by two women - gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman and U.S. Senate nominee Carly Fiorina; a Latino - Lt. Gov. nominee Abel Maldonado; and an African-American - Secretary of State nominee Damon Dunn. Fiorina drove home...

Politico.com raised a stink Tuesday over the possibility that "birther queen" Orly Taitz may win the GOP primary for secretary of state and put California Republicans in the embarrassing position of having a thoroughly discredited conspiracy theorist on their November ticket. The piece contained little evidence (perhaps because there isn't much) but leaned almost exclusively of the kind of why-not speculation popular in American punditry. Here's an excerpt: California Republicans optimistic about their prospects in November could find themselves with a bit of a problem after the votes are counted in Tuesday’s primaries -- a statewide ticket with the so-called...

Original title: MSNBC’s Matthews Roots for Birther Candidate Taitz to ‘Bring Down’ California GOP, ‘Tie Her Up Like a Witch at the Stake' Appearing on the 10:00 p.m. edition of MSNBC’s Countdown show on Tuesday to discuss the day’s primary election results, Chris Matthews expressed his delight that Orly Taitz – a prominent member of the birther movement that pushes the bizarre theory that President Obama was not really born in America – won the Republican nomination for secretary of state in California, and expressed his hope that the fringe candidate would drag down the Republican ticket in the state....

GOP bad dream: Birther on ticket By: Kasie Hunt June 7, 2010 03:53 PM EDT California Republicans optimistic about their prospects in November could find themselves with a bit of a problem after the votes are counted in Tuesday’s primaries - a statewide ticket with the so-called “Birther Queen” as one of their candidates. Orly Taitz is an Israeli émigré who has spent the last two years filing lawsuits challenging President Barack Obama’s right to be president on the grounds that he was born in Kenya. In the process, she has earned herself $20,000 in court fines. Now she’s running...

Laguna Niguel lawyer Orly Taitz, who’s best known for alleging that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, is finding tepid donor support in her bid for California’s top elections job, secretary of state. Campaign disclosures filed with incumbent Secretary of State Debra Bowen show that Taitz has raised $6,000 and loaned her campaign an additional $39,600. Her opponent in the Republican primary, Irvine businessman Damon Dunn, has raised $276,000 and loaned his campaign $60,000 more.

Bakersfield, CA --Damon Dunn, Republican Candidate for Secretary of State, addressed the Tea Party April 15, describing how his own journey from abject poverty taught him the value of individual self-reliance. "I learned that the government, when I was poor, could be a safety net, but never a trampoline. Any upward mobility was going to require the individual to create it; to develop it. The African American, former pro-football player and Stanford Honors student described how his rise from childhood poverty to millionaire status as a small business owner offers him a unique understanding of the factors involved in success....

Damon Dunn has captured the attention of the California Republican Party, as well as the conservative, independent and youthful voters of the state; many are starting to label him the “future of the Republican Party”. If Dunn is that future, it is best described as energetic, articulate and extremely passionate – and never has voted. Dunn is the 33-year-old Texas ex-patriot, University of Stanford political graduate and very successful California businessman who has now decided to run for Secretary of State as a conservative Republican. The former Cardinal football star, and employee of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, has a story...

Damon Dunn, who declared his bid Wednesday to become California's next secretary of state, seems to have the goods to be a campaign contender: He's African American, a former NFL receiver with powerful Republican friends - including Condoleezza Rice - and he's hired a top team of campaign strategists. But the 33-year-old Republican, who says he's wealthy, has a problem: Dunn, who has never run for public office and aims to become the state's chief elections official, said he voted for the first - and only - time in his life in May 2009. His limited voting record puts Dunn...

Is there a revolution inside of the California Republican Party? For a third time inside of the current election cycle a statewide Republican candidate has emerged with an embarrassing voting record. The GOP’s 2010 roster of statewide elephants now feature three voting violators: former HP CEO Carly Fiorina for US Senate, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman for Governor and newcomer Damon Dunn for Secretary of State. Each of these GOP candidates are holding serve inside of their respective campaigns, yet they display a great weakness with one of the most vital qualifications for voters to determine where they stand on...