More Election News

• OH: Strickland in Tough Fight for Second Term
• IL: Troubling Signs for Giannoulias in Latest Poll
• VA-9: Cap and Trade Matters in Race
• MS-4: Democratic Rep. Taylor Says He Voted for McCain
• RI: Caprio Says Obama "Can Take His Endorsement and Shove It"
• CA: Fiorina Looks Like the Stronger GOP Candidate
• AZ: House Democrats Try to Fight Off Extinction in State
• FL: Alex Sink, Rick Scott Race Is Thick With Intrigue
• MO: Carnahan Tapping Father's Legacy in Senate Bid
• WA-3: Will Race Reflect Political Tide?
• SC: Barbs Land in Race but Effect Is Unclear
• OH: Why Is Lee Fisher So Far Behind?
• MA-10: Ideology Isn't the Only Issue in Keating-Perry Race

LOS ANGELES - The race for the next governor of California has seen its share of distractions this year, between slurs from Democratic former Gov. Jerry Brown's team and hiccups exposed in GOP nominee Meg Whitman's background.

The side stories may have been setbacks for Whitman as her team has outspent Brown heavily to introduce her to voters, but Whitman strategist Mike Murphy said he believes the controversies have boiled over and that the former eBay CEO needs just one last surge of momentum to surpass Brown.

"It's a blue state, but voters have got a flawed Democratic candidate they don't like, and a Republican they're not sure about," Murphy said. "We need one more push to get past him."

So over the weekend, Whitman launched a 60-second closing spot that campaign aides believe will help her do just that.

Whitman says to the camera in the ad, "I know many of you see this election as an unhappy choice between a long-time politician with no plan for the future and a billionaire with no government experience." She continues, "I'm not a career politician or a Hollywood star: I'm from Silicon Valley, where I created thousands of jobs at eBay. As governor, I'll do something that's been missing from California politics for far too long: I'll treat you like grown-ups, tell it to you straight, and offer a practical plan forward."

Brown's campaign dismissed Whitman's effort to reintroduce herself with a statement from spokesman Sterling Clifford, who said, "Californians have a choice in this election: a billionaire with a newfound interest in government who names an ad ‘I'm ready' and repeats the words into a camera or a candidate whose experience speaks for itself."

But the ad does remind voters that the race, after a series of unpredictable distractions, comes down to a business-backed Republican new to politics and a veteran Democrat running on his record in a year when incumbents and establishment figures have been anything but popular.

Earlier this month, a recorded phone conversation surfaced between Brown and a staffer who suggested calling Whitman a "whore." The controversy came just after Whitman's longtime housekeeper Nicandra Diaz Santillon emerged to say Whitman fired her when she learned Santillon was an undocumented worker.

Murphy explained, "There's a fair amount of noise in any California race because of the pop culture nature of our politics, but I think most voters don't care about it; they see it as a huge distraction - they bitch about it."

"I think the ‘w' comment hurt him; I think the maid cost us a week, but I think it's all kind of out of the system now, and I think there's more hang over for him than us," he said, adding that Whitman's support in the polls from Latino voters had been "in the stratosphere," and the campaign is trying to get back to where they were before the housekeeper story broke.

"Ten days ago we were in the muck a little bit; now we're going," Murphy said. Of Brown, he added, "There's no enthusiasm for him. He's stuck at 45 or 46 percent."

Brown leads by 6.2 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average, but Murphy called a handful of the polls out recently "comic relief."

Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford responded to Murphy's comments: "Jerry leads Meg by 15 points with women voters in her own poll."

"Meg's unfavorable rating in her own poll is 47, so I don't think it's that voters aren't sure about her. They are sure they don't like her," he said. "I don't know how Murphy says those things with a straight face."

For her part, Whitman said in an interview with RealClearPolitics that she's been campaigning for 20 months and has hit 51 of the state's counties in more than 700 events.

"I'm starting to be pretty well known to Californians," she said.

She added, "I have been in some ways disappointed by the slurs, the personal attacks, the distractions because all that stuff - whether it was the housekeeper or Jerry Brown's slur - it's not getting anyone another job, it's not fixing one school, it's not cutting one dollar of fraud out of the government."

Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger has not endorsed in the race yet, and Whitman has tried repeatedly to distance herself from the term-limited governor.

In the interview, she complained that the Golden State has become unfriendly to business, and her goal as governor would be to change that environment. "Perhaps most importantly, the leader of this state since [‘90s GOP Gov.] Pete Wilson, whether it was [former Democratic Gov.] Gray Davis or Gov. Schwarzenegger, has not focused on making this a business friendly state," she said.

But asked if she would welcome Schwarzenegger's endorsement, Whitman replied, "Absolutely. I want everyone's endorsement. I want everyone to be part of this campaign."

Brown's campaign unveiled a 60-second TV ad last week running in the state now that pairs clips of comments Schwarzenegger has made with clips of Whitman making the same statements. The ad ends with a line from the San Jose Mercury News' endorsement of Brown: "We tried that. It didn't work."

Schwarzenegger will introduce Whitman and Brown on Tuesday in the session, "Who We Are, Where We're Going" at The Women's Conference, an annual event hosted by California's first lady, Maria Shriver.

First ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush also will speak at the day-long seminar in Long Beach.