A 2018 Prediction, Year of the Lady Part 2 in California?

Kamala Harris

Condoleezza Rice

With the excitement of possibly having our first female president after having our first African -American president, I look to the future of California and other states after the major presidential election of 2016. As an astute observer of California politics I am interested into looking at who may be staging themselves for the 4 year campaign after what looks to be a Jerry Brown victory in 2014.

Without a doubt the top contender for the future vacant gubernatorial position will be our current California Attorney General Kamala Harris. She is currently in the role previously occupied by the current governor and no other statewide figure is as visual and respected as Kamala Harris. I concede that their are many qualified potential candidates on the Democrat side like the new Los Angeles Mayor or even the party's leader the unpredictable John Burton. Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom is very qualified and well known but sits in a political deadzone that may however, allow him to run for a future US Senate seat. But no other member of the Democratic organization is as trustworthy as the state's top cop, nor does any other Democrat have the national exposure that Attorney General Harris has.

But to other side, which Republican can match up to all the qualifications and experience needed to be seen as gubernatorial? Well I think we should look at the dynamic of Kamala Harris a little more to compare. She is a woman of a mixed race marriage, a new dynamic to the state's top office and but she posses the features that are more representative of the state compared to every governor before beside Romualdo Pacheco.

Well the Republicans just might have a candidate that is no secret and in fact she was considered for the position prior to September 11, 2001. Former National Security Advisor to the President and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a bit of a phenotypic replica of Harris and is well established in California and with the national party. The Stanford University professor and former White House official could actually make a race out of 2018 by using the national party resources like Karl Rove and mobilize a campaign that could generate interest in the race.

Imagine how impactful to the young ladies of California and states around the nation to have a female President and then two extremely qualified women of color running for the country's most important gubernatorial post. 2016 could possibly be Hillary's year, but 2018 in California and around the nation will be the sequel to the 1992 smash hit, The Year of the Woman.

gabriel j sanchez
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