Tom Campbell

Seven former California Republican Party chairs have backed Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's bid for governor in 2010.

Poizner announced the endorsements of those chairs in a press release that included comments from some of them.

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced his opening of a 2010 exploratory bid for governor Monday, immediately putting him in the front tier of Republicans to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Poizner, rumored to be interested in running for the job for months, said in a campaign announcement that his campaign would focus on fostering innovation in government and business.

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.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) and former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Roy) are looking good in recent gubernatorial polling, while Brent Wilkes got some bad news from a judge this week. They're among this week's Winners & Losers. | CLICK HERE

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell: University of California BerkeleyTwo former California politicians thought to be done with elective office are eyeing statewide races in 2010.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Republican Tom Campbell, a former San Jose congressman and most recently business school dean at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed an exploratory committee to run for governor in two years.

And the Sacramento Bee reported Monday afternoon that Joe Canciamilla, a former Democratic assemblyman from the East Bay, has taken out papers to run for attorney general in 2010.

Former California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim says that former Rep. Tom Campbell would make a strong gubernatorial candidate in 2010, according to a story in PolitickerCA.com. Sundheim listed Campbell, the GOP U.S. Senate candidate against Dianne Feinstein in 2000, along with Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and CEO’s Carly Fiorina (Hewlett-Packard) and Meg Whitman (E-Bay).

Duf Sundheim, the former chair of the California Republican Party who is heading up a new independent organization designed to recruit top Republican candidates to run for statewide offices, told PolitickerCA.com today that former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell would be a strong 2010 Republican gubernatorial contender.

"There are people who think he would be a strong candidate, and people have expressed that to me," said Sundheim, who declined to answer when asked if he had engaged in private discussions with Cambell about a 2010 campaign.