Steve Poizner

SACRAMENTO -- California Insurance Commissioner and Golden State uber Republican Steve Poizner said Friday that he thought the recently concluded Republican National Convention in St. Paul was just boffo.

In an e-mail sent statewide, Poizner, who is likely to run to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010, said:

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -California Republicans have uniformly said this week that they're focused for now on helping U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) win the presidency with the state's help.

But that's not to say that the delegation attending this week's Republican National Convention isn't also looking both internally and ahead, for the top up-and-coming party members who could someday be the party's representative in the governor's house or the U.S. Senate.

When asked, here are some of the names party insiders mention as possible future GOP stalwarts from California:

BLAINE, Minn. - California Republicans have a stronger chance of success when the party is unified from the governor on down, State Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Tustin) believes.

Ackerman, a delegate attending the Republican National Convention and a former state Senate Republican leader, said some party members believe that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't do enough to help fellow GOP politicians running for statewide office in 2006.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - California GOP party leader Jon Fleischman said a win by U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in this year's presidential race would help the Republican Party keep control of the state's gubernatorial slot in 2010.

Fleischman, an at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention and an elected vice chairman of the party in Southern California, said he likes what he's seen so far from prospective candidates Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

Looking to boost Republican registration before the Nov. 4 election, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner continued -- and added to -- a preexisting program that gives an $8 bounty for every newly registered voter to the community groups and county committees that sign them up.

The new amount, raised by $2, will be in effect through Oct. 20, the deadline to register to vote on Nov. 4. Poizner, an independently wealthy Republican, is providing the additional money for registrations.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner confirmed that he's very interested in a possible 2010 run for governor, adding he'd do so on a platform of returning a culture of innovation to the state's business climate.

"My passion is focused on making California the innovation capital of the world," he said. "We're on the verge of losing that."

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) said state Republicans have reason to worry in California this fall, regardless of how presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain does.

"If there's a wave, you've got to make sure you're on it," said Brulte, who served in both the State Assembly and Senate during the 1990s and early 2000s and is attending the Republican National Convention this week as a delegate. "And if it's coming at you, you have to be ready for it."

Insurance Commissioner Steve PoiznerThe Flash Report -- a well-read conservative news aggregator and opinion website -- has said that state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has retained the services of consulting group Meridian Pacific to help him launch a gubernatorial bid in 2010.

Site publisher Jon Fleischman said Thursday afternoon that Poizner will work with the Sacramento-based group on early work toward a run for governor, focusing on grassroots support and ground operations.

A campaign website for California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner distributed a commentary Monday noting that Poizner is well positioned to take the banner for the Republican Party in California after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is termed out of office in 2010.

"Given his story and ability to finance his own campaign, it's hardly surprising that many political insiders say the future of the California GOP lies in the hands of Poizner," writes Jaime Sneider, a writer for the Weekly Standard online, in the commentary.

Not all prospective candidates for California governor in 2010 are big names, armed with big support or bank accounts.

Richard Aguirre, a state resident who has apparently never held nor run for public office before, has filed a statement of intent to run for the state's top job in two years.