Pete Wilson

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Former California Governor Pete Wilson said Monday that he also didn't think the current state budget standoff - which kept state GOP legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in California rather than attending the convention - could be fairly compared to what he dealt with in the mid-1990s.

Then, Wilson agreed to a temporary tax increase as a way to fill a state budget deficit, as Democrats have pushed for this year.

Speaking to reporters after a speech to the California delegation to the Republican National Convention Wilson said that the difference is that years of deficit spending since then have led to the current situation.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson: Getty Images PhotoBLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Former California Gov. Pete Wilson said he sees this year's presidential election in much the same way as former President Ronald Reagan saw the only acceptable conclusion to the Cold War: "They lose, we win."

Wilson, speaking to the state's delegation to the Republican National Convention, said making sure U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won in November would require legwork and financial support from California, which has the largest delegation in Minneapolis.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - A late-night event for the California delegation to the Republican National Convention will instead happen a few hours earlier and be aimed at relief for victims of Hurricane Gustav.

The event in downtown Minneapolis is sponsored by Medtronic and will include delegations from California, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota and Tennessee.

As Gavin Newsom mulls a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010, he might want to consider the track record of his predecessors: no Mayor of San Francisco has been elected Governor since James Rolph won in 1930. The last three Mayors-turned-gubernatorial candidate have lost: Dianne Feinstein lost her bid for Governor in 1990 to Pete Wilson; Joseph Alioto was defeated by Jerry Brown in the 1974 Democratic primary; George Christopher lost the 1966 GOP primary to Ronald Reagan. Alioto was the only sitting Mayor to run for Governor, although Christopher was the incumbent when he lost a bid for Lieutenant Governor in 1962, running on a ticket with unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon.

Every six years, Republicans begin to display some confidence in their ability to beat Barbara Boxer in a race for the United States Senate. They only came close once, back in 1992 when Boxer was running statewide for the first time; she defeated conservative commentator Bruce Herschensohn by 48%-43% margin. The GOP had high hopes in 1998 when they ran State Treasurer Matt Fong, but he lost 53%-43%. They were less optimistic in 2004 despite the candidacy of Bill Jones, who had won two statewide elections as Secretary of State; Boxer won that race 58%-39%.

When Californians elect their U.S. Senators, they usually like to stick with them. Incumbent senators running for re-election have rarely been ousted since the first direct election took place in 1912.

A rare early exception was James Phelan (D) who was defeated in 1920 by Samuel Shortridge (R) after just one term in office. In 1970, incumbent U.S. Sen. George Murphy (R) lost to John Tunney (D), who in turn lost to S. I. Hayakawa (R) six years later. And most recently, in a special election in 1992, Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) defeated U.S. Sen. John Seymour (R), who was appointed a year earlier by then-Gov. Pete Wilson (R) to fill the seat he vacated to run for governor.

The California Republican Party has released its delegate list for the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul in September.

The full list includes 173 delegates, 170 alternates and over 400 guests. Bill Jones, former California Secretary of State, is the delegation chairman, and the total delegation is the largest of any state at the convention.

His vice chairs are State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring, former Gov. Pete Wilson and State Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Merced).

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Getty Images Photo

The California Democratic and Republican parties have filled out their leadership posts to this summer’s conventions in Denver and Minneapolis.

Former California Secretary of State Bill Jones will serve as chairman of the California Republican Party’s delegation. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will serve as honorary chairman. Former Governor Pete Wilson, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, and state Party Chairman Ron Nehring will serve as co-chairmen.

"Ours is a delegation representative of every corner of California and the excitement and enthusiasm of our grassroots volunteers and supporters will propel us forward as we come together to pledge our delegate’s votes to Senator John McCain,” Bill Jones said in a statement.

Leading the Democratic delegation is U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “I can think of no better California Democrat to lead our historic delegation to Denver than our senior United States Senator, Dianne Feinstein,” said California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres.

The campaign for U.S. House candidate Doug Ose, continuing its strategy of painting Republican primary opponent Tom McClintock as an ineffectual lifetime politician, is distributing a letter from former Governor Pete Wilson throughout the Roseville-area district that says “as Governor, I could never count on Tom McClintock.”

In the letter, Wilson writes of McClintock, “He was always the first to criticize, but the last to help the team. His record doesn’t match his rhetoric.” (Click here to see the letter.)

Wilson, a Republican, occupied the governor’s seat from 1991-1999. McClintock, who now is a state Senator, served as an Assemblyman from 1996-2000.

Wilson writes in the letter that McClintock repeatedly voted against his and the Republican Assembly members’ efforts to pass legislation, citing McClintock’s votes on reforming the state welfare system and on passing the state budget.

U.S. Sen. John McCain with Meg WhitmanA fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate John McCain at the Atherton home of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman today took in about $2.5 million, a spokesperson for the McCain campaign tells PolitickerCA.com Thursday afternoon.

Three hundred people attended the event, with former Gov. Pete Wilson, former Secretary of State Bill Jones, state Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring, and investment banker James Chanos. Attendees dined on chicken, according to one person who was there.

Whitman is serving as a co-chair for the McCain. She is widely seen as a potential Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2010.