For Jerry Brown, it's his to lose

To the surprise of absolutely no one this side of the Crab Nebula, California Gov. Jerry Brown will seek a fourth term as governor.
Filing his reelection papers Friday, Brown is without Democratic opposition. That also isn't surprising given his popularity among voters -- a 60 percent approval rating in a January poll by the Public Policy Institute of California -- and the fact that he's sitting on an $17 million campaign war chest that tends to dissuade challengers.

California Gov. Jerry Brown

For that matter, Brown isn't facing much Republican opposition either. Oh, at least two wannabes say they want his job, but come on ...
There's Neel Kashkari, an Ohio born investment banker and former Treasury Department official who helped administer the bank bailout. He campaigns on pledges to create jobs and improve schools, but then who doesn't promise that?
Well, there is one guy who doesn't. He's Assemblyman Tim Donnelly of Hesperia, a tea party gun rights advocate who wants Brown's job. He has one thing going for him: opposition to Brown's dream of twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. His real claim to fame, however, is being caught trying to board an airliner with a loaded handgun. He alleges he forgot he was packing, somewhat troubling for any gun owner. Such forgetfulness also is troubling for anyone who wants to oversee the multi-billion dollar
state budget.
Politics being politics, there are no sure things although Brown comes close. Still it would be nice to see the Republicans field a candidate with more name recognition than Kashkari (but with his smarts) and less wacko-challenged than Donnelly.