California’s an Unlikely Place for a GOP Primary Battle

◼ Think of the irony of having California determine who gets to face President Barack Obama in November. - John Wildermuth/Fox&Hounds

Republicans from across the country would be breathlessly waiting for results from the bluest of blue states, one where GOP registration is barely 30 percent and sinking and where the party couldn’t muster the votes to elect an insurance commissioner in the 2010 election.

In 2010, Republican Meg Whitman spent $159 million to lose the governor’s race by 13 percentage points. By next year, Republicans could make up less than one-third of the state Senate and D.C. Democrats are talking about picking up five or more GOP congressional seats here in 2012, making the state the linchpin of their longshot strategy to retake the House.

Sounds like a fun place to run a high-profile GOP presidential primary campaign, doesn’t it?