Despite what he claimed was an improper effort by insurers to defeat him, California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has won a close primary race to be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
To vie for the commissioner's post, which Mr. Garamendi exits at year's end, Democrats nominated Cruz Bustamante, the present lieutenant governor. He will be running against Republican nominee Steve Poizner, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who has served as director of critical infrastructure protection for the National Security Council in Washington, but never held elective office.
Mr. Garamendi will face Republican nominee State Sen. Tom McClintock in November.
The commissioner won 43.3 percent of the Democratic primary vote, defeating State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco, who won 38.7 percent. State Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, finished third with 18 percent of the vote.
The contest between Mr. Garamendi and Ms. Speier was a close one, and Mr. Garamendi faced a last minute campaign against him funded by insurance companies.
Mr. Garamendi charged that the insurers' efforts were meant to blackmail him into dropping proposed regulations that would limit their ability to factor in customers' geographic locations in setting their auto coverage rates.
Despite his complaint the State Attorney General's Office found no cause for action against the insurers.
Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights and author of the state's Proposition 103 insurance law, commented that, "The handful of arrogant insurers who spent millions to punish the Insurance Commissioner for doing his job were trying to send a message to the candidates for insurance commissioner and every other elected official in the state: 'defy us, and we will kill you politically.'"
Mr. McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, won his party's nomination in overwhelming fashion with 93.7 percent of the vote.
Mr. Bustamante won his nomination with 70.4 percent of the vote while Mr. Poizner ran unopposed.
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