Kashkari has long road to overtake Jerry Brown

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, in the Corona Del Mar area of Newport Beach, Calif. Kashkari won his party's primary, advancing to the general election to face Gov. Jerry Brown in November 2014. less California Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, in the Corona Del Mar area of Newport Beach, Calif. Kashkari won his party's primary, ... more Photo: Alex Gallardo, Associated Press Photo: Alex Gallardo, Associated Press Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Kashkari has long road to overtake Jerry Brown 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Marquee Republican leaders nationwide got their wish when former Treasury official Neel Kashkari snagged second place in the California gubernatorial contest, freezing a Tea Party insurgency led by conservative Assemblyman Tim Donnelly.

But Democrats, and plenty of Republicans, say the state GOP had better start wishing for miracles as Kashkari pivots toward the fall campaign against Gov. Jerry Brown, who has amassed a $20 million war chest in his quest for a fourth term and is coming off a strong first-place finish in Tuesday's primary.

California Republicans' recent moves to rebuild the withered party may depend on whether Tea Party backers set aside their anger that Donnelly's shoestring campaign was overwhelmed at the end by the establishment-anointed Kashkari, a first-time candidate who dropped $2.1 million of his own money in the race.

"You have a pro-choice, pro-gay-marriage Republican who administered TARP" - the recession-era Troubled Asset Relief Program that bailed out drowning banks - "and voted for Barack Obama in 2008," said Democratic strategist Garry South. "Is this someone who is going to energize their base in the fall?"

The early answer was "no."

No breakfast

The bad feelings between the hard right and the crowd that Donnelly dismissed as "country club" Republicans were evident in the party's decision to skip the traditional day-after-election "Unity Breakfast." In the past, the event brought battling Republicans together in a "Kumbaya" moment, even after a bitter 2010 gubernatorial primary in which Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner spent a collective $109 million bloodying each other.

Kashkari, speaking the day after he defeated Donnelly by four percentage points, tried to mend fences Wednesday with conservatives. "I want to show the entire country that there is a positive path for the Republicans that can unite us and lift everyone up on a message of jobs and economic opportunity," Kashkari said. "My vision for the Republican Party is the biggest tent you've ever seen in your life, a tent where everyone is welcome, and the principles that unite us are the principles of hard work and economic opportunity."

Proud Republican

And "at the end of this campaign," he said, "I want you to raise your hand and say, 'I am proud to vote Republican.' "

The former Goldman Sachs vice president also thanked the national GOP stars who "care about California" and endorsed him during the primary, including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

For his part, Donnelly was still in a combative mood. In a letter to supporters that began, "Dear Patriots," he said the campaign proved "the political establishment remains the greatest threat to California's future."

"We have united a small but hardy band of Californians who refuse to be controlled by their government, and our numbers are growing," he said. "We have not yet begun to fight."

Bruce Cain, a political science professor at Stanford University, said the "victory for the GOP establishment" was part of a national strategy of "much heavier intervention" by Republican brand names in races where Tea Party candidates could prevail. Mainstream Republicans mounted similar efforts to beat back Tea Party challengers in elections last month in Kentucky, Oregon and Georgia, Cain noted.

Significantly, Kashkari won his contest "without turning to the right," as Poizner did in California in 2010 and as Romney did nationally in 2012, Cain said. "He stuck to an almost Schwarzenegger-like adherence to social moderation."

Leaning to the left

Kashkari appeared to tack even further to the left Wednesday, saying he would stress jobs and education during the fall campaign while trying to reach "the (millions) of Californians living in poverty today. ... I want to be a voice for all of them."

That strategy, said Cain, will be risky at best for a Republican.

"You're not going to outflank Jerry Brown on the left," he said, and "the Republican Party is so far on the other side of the income inequality issue that it's just not credible. He's better off going after Brown on his connections to the unions" and his support of the high-speed-rail project, which Kashkari has dubbed "the Crazy Train."

Still, the fallout remains to be seen "how much he will be hurt if the Donnelly people stay home" in November, he said.

Already, there were signs the Tea Party crowd wasn't buying the party's standard-bearer.

Kyle Raccio, a Tea Party supporter in San Francisco, said he hadn't ruled out voting for Brown.

"I think it's yet to be determined who is more conservative, Kashkari or Brown," said Raccio, 27. "I think (Kashkari) made it clear he's not interested in getting support from the Tea Party or true conservatives."

He added: "Brown did keep his promise not to raise taxes without voter input - and I'm not sure Kashkari has the decency to do that."

Donnelly supporter Lauren Stephens of Fresno also couldn't promise to support Kashkari.

"A lot of people who voted for Donnelly weren't registered Republicans," said Stephens, 49. "I'm not saying they were Democrats. They were people who dropped out of the Republican Party. ... If Kashkari wants to earn their support, he has a lot of work to do."

Money drying up?

Even more ominously for Kashkari, Republican insiders uniformly agree the national party is unlikely to provide any general election resources against the well-funded Brown. The money Kashkari has already spent amounts to 40 percent of his stated $5 million wealth.

Neither will the state party chip in for the governor's race, insiders say. State GOP Chairman Jim Brulte has made clear that his goals are electing more Republicans to Congress, eliminating the Democrats' supermajority in the Legislature and rebuilding the party from the ground up.

There were some encouraging signs for the party on that front in Tuesday's primary. Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, viewed as a rising GOP star, led the field for state controller, and a second Republican, accountant David Evans, was running neck and neck with Democrats John Pérez and Betty Yee for the second spot in the general election.

In the secretary of state's race, Republican Pete Peterson finished a strong second despite being outspent 20 to 1 by Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla, whom he will face in November.

Ron Nehring, the Republican who will face Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the fall, says he is already at work with Swearengin, Peterson and other GOP candidates to begin the long task of mending fences.

"I think it is incumbent upon the gubernatorial candidates to take the lead in terms of setting the tone and taking the steps necessary to broaden their coalition after the primary," Nehring said. Starting now, he said, "everyone will take a fresh look."