Florez, Denham starting campaigns for lieutenant governor

Published online on Friday, Apr. 03, 2009

SACRAMENTO — They’ve been raising money for months, but state Sens. Dean Florez and Jeff Denham are “officially” kicking off their 2010 lieutenant governor campaigns this week.

Denham, R-Atwater, hosted a concert — and fundraiser — Thursday in Modesto with country singer Sara Evans. They'll be in Salinas Friday.

Florez, D-Shafter, on Thursday blasted text messages touting an “interactive webcast” Friday to announce his run.

Earlier this week, Florez hosted a “tequila tasting” fundraiser at a Sacramento restaurant. Sponsorships and tickets ranged from $1,000 to $6,500 a pop.

Both men are vying to replace first-term Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, a Democrat who is planning to run for governor. Florez has vowed to stay in the lieutenant governor’s race even if Garamendi reconsiders and runs for a second term.

Right now, the Democratic primary is shaping up to be a contest between Florez and state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who recently filed papers.

On the Republican side, a potential challenger to Denham is 2002 gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, a wealthy conservative who would likely be able to pour money into the campaign.

Denham, 41, was first elected to the Senate in 2002. He gained some notoriety in 2008 after fighting off a recall campaign led by former Senate Leader Don Perata, D-Oakland. The recall was launched to punish Denham for his refusal to vote for the state budget in 2007, a holdout that led to a lengthy standoff.

“Simon has the money,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican and publisher of the nonpartisan California Target Book on state politics. But “Denham, of course, has the story of the recall and standing tall on no tax increases” during the recent state budget battle, he said.

Florez, a 45-year-old former investment banker, was first elected to the Assembly in 1998 and moved to the Senate in 2002. He has positioned himself as a moderate outsider for most of his political career but this year took the ultimate insider’s job as Senate Majority Leader, the upper chamber’s second in command who often runs floor proceedings.

Lowenthal, 68, a former assemblyman and Long Beach city council member, is a retired psychology professor and considered to be a liberal.

Florez could benefit from a big Latino turnout in the primary, but Lowenthal has the advantage of coming from voter-rich Southern California, said Bill Carrick, a Democratic political consultant.

Steve Maviglio, a Democratic strategist, said the race will be “a doozey of a battle: old guard vs. new blood, L.A. vs. the Valley, moderate vs. unabashed liberal.”

Still, Denham, Florez and Lowenthal are all unknown statewide, the consultants said — and more candidates are likely to jump in the race.

“The big challenge is of course raising money in order to get some name ID across the state,” Carrick said. Florez and Denham have been raising money since last year. Florez took in $712,911 in 2008 and Denham raised $102,000, according to the latest filings.