Steve Poinzer

A key political adviser to State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a potential 2010 gubernatorial candidate, today pushed back on suggestions that Poizner might back out of a run for the state’s top post if former EBay CEO Meg Whitman jumped into the race.

“I don’t think Meg Whitman gets around Steve in a gubernatorial primary, I don’t think anyone does,” said Tim Clark, an adviser who managed Poizner’s successful 2006 campaign for California Insurance Commissioner. Clark added that Poizner, who is helping to subsidize a new California Republican Party voter registration drive, has “been a leader in pushing the Republican agenda” in the state.