As heavyweight Democratic gubernatorial candidates jockey for position, the Republican side of the aisle appears to be a race with no clear cut favorite. Keeping in line with the "yacht party" mantra, the GOP will likely field several candidates wealthy enough to fund their own campaign, but not nearly represent the majority of the state's citizenry.

Once these folks go public with their stances on social issues the right-wing of their own party will eat them alive. Cant wait.

Republicans Rumored to Replace the Terminator:

Meg Whitman, Former C.E.O. of EBay

• Last September, Whitman switched her party registration from "decline to state" to Republican, according to records in San Mateo County, where she lives. The source close to Whitman said she had made the change so she could vote for Romney in the Feb. 5 Republican primary, which is closed to independents this year.
  
  Whitman has talked with top Republicans about the possibility of a run for California governor in 2010, according to three operatives who have had discussions with her.
  
  Whitman is said to be asking detailed questions about the logistics of a run and the impact she could have as governor, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the conversations.

Steve Poizner, State Insurance Commissioner

• Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is at the head of the pack. He signaled his interest in the governorship early, pumping $2.5 million of his own money into a campaign against a November term limits initiative that would have allowed a handful of powerful Democrats to stay on in Sacramento.
  
  Since then, he's crisscrossed the state holding public events on insurance rate reductions for consumers and touting crackdowns on insurance scofflaws. He's also appeared with the governor at disaster zones in the wake of wildfires.

Carly Fiorina, Former C.E.O. of Hewlett-Packard

• She's working the California fundraising circuit on behalf of presumed GOP presidential nominee John McCain, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.

Tom Campbell, Former U.S. Congressman

• Former South Bay Republican congressman Tom Campbell - a fiscal conservative, social moderate and respected academic who twice before unsuccessfully sought statewide office,
  Campbell, 55, filed papers last week to form an "exploratory committee" for governor, which allows him to begin raising money for a potential bid.
  
  Campbell boasts a sterling academic résumé - he earned a doctorate in economics and a law degree from Harvard - and during five terms in Congress gained a reputation as an independent thinker willing to challenge party orthodoxy. He served briefly as Schwarzenegger's finance chief.
  
  In his most recent try for statewide office, Campbell lost a U.S. Senate race in 2000 against Democrat Dianne Feinstein by 20 points.