Former Secretary of State Bill Jones endorses Meg Whitman

[ccharles000]

The endorsement war in the GOP gubernatorial race touched down in the Central Valley today.

Frontrunner Meg Whitman announced this morning that she's secured the support of Former Secretary of State Bill Jones.

Jones, a businessman and rancher who also represented the Fresno area in the state Assembly, said in a statement that Whitman meets California's need for a "proven job creator to turn around our economy and get our state moving in the right direction."

Jones also ran an unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2004. As Whitman's Republican rival Steve Poizner's campaign likes to point out, the former eBay executive endorsed and contributed to Boxer's campaign that cycle in partnership with a group of technology executives.

Meanwhile, Team Poizner is touting the endorsement of the The Lincoln Club of Fresno, as well as a SurveyUSA poll conducted for a Fresno TV station that Poizner trailing Whitman by just 10 points in the Central Valley (The poll put her lead at 22 percent among likely GOP primary voters statewide).

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/04/former-secretar.html