Meg Whitman Opposes "Open Primary" Measure

The putative Democratic nominee for California governor is attorney general Jerry Brown, who served as governor from 1975 to 1983. Brown also sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976, 1980, and 1992. His father, Governor Pat Brown, was unseated in 1966 by a first-time candidate named Ronald Reagan. Jerry Brown is firmly straddling the fence on the issue of the "top two open primary."

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From Ballot Access News:

On April 1, Meg Whitman, leading in the polls for the California Republican gubernatorial nomination, said that she opposes Proposition 14, the “top-two” ballot measure.[1] She said that she is favorably disposed toward some sort of open primary, but she opposes Proposition 14 because it would lead to so few choices on the November ballot. She specifically criticized Proposition 14 because in some legislative or congressional districts there would be November elections in which no Republican appears on the ballot.

Whitman made this statement in Chico, at one of her public campaign events. Her comments were in response to a question from the audience.

Click here for a seven-minute video of a debate on Proposition 14.

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[1] In this Louisiana-style election system, all candidates, including independents, run in the same election. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, move on to the runoff. Louisiana and Washington are now the only two states that use this system to elect all of their state officials, and Washington alone uses it for its congressional elections. The California proposal is for state and congressional elections.