Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr.

(April 7, 1938-Alive). Jerry Brown, the son of Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown of California, studied for the priesthood, but opted for the more active engagement in the world of politics. He obtained a law degree from Yale, became active in the Eugene McCarthy campaign, and launched a career on the left-wing of the Democratic Party. Democratic Secretary of State of California (1971-1975) and Governor (1975-1983). He achieved national prominence and advanced radical innovations like the promotion of wind power. In 1976, he sought the Democratic nomination for President. To some, he was a visionary, to others, "Governor Moonbeam." In 1982, he decided to seek a U.S. Senate seat, losing to Pete Wilson. But Brown remained a national figure and eventually won election as Mayor of Oakland, California (1998-2006). In 2007, he became Attorney General of California--his current position, which was once held by his father.

Thomas J. Campbell

(August 14, 1952-Alive). Tom Campbell graduated from law school, then went on and earned a Ph.D. in economics in 1980. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed a White House Fellow under President Reagan. In 1981, he was appointed Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission, where he remained until 1983. He moved to California to take a position as Professor at Stanford Law School. Running as a Republican, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988. He gave up his House seat when he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1992. Campbell then became a member of the California State Senate, until he was again elected to the U.S. House (1995) to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Norman Mineta, who had been appointed to the Cabinet. In 2000, he made his second bid for U.S. Senator--this time carrying the Republican banner into the General Election, where he lost to Barbara Boxer. He left the House in 2001.

Helen Gahagan Douglas

(November 25, 1900-June 28, 1980). Helen Gahagan Douglas won an early measure of fame as an actress and opera singer. From 1940 to 1944, she was the Democratic National Committeewoman from California. In 1944, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she was noted as one of California's leading liberals. She occupies a special place in history due to her 1950 campaign for the U.S. Senate against her House colleague, Richard M. Nixon. Nixon won that election on the strength of personal attacks on Douglas's patriotism. Nixon's campaign charged her with being "soft on Communism" and somewhat "pink." The bitterness created during the campaign haunted Nixon for the rest of his life and is responsible for much of the emnity he experienced from those who remember the 1950 campaign. After the election, Douglas became a popular lecturer and author (A Full Life, 1982).

Matt Fong

Matt fong was the first Asian American to serve as State Treasurer of California. Elected as a Republican, the Los Angeles attorney was later accused of accepting a $100,000 campaign donation from Ted Sioeng, an Indonesian businessman, to pay off debt from his 1994 campaign. In 1998, he unsuccessfully ran against Barbara Boxer for the U.S. Senate. When George W. Bush was elected in 2000, Fong was nominated to be Undersecretary of the Army. His nomination stirred mild controversy, but he nonetheless bowed out in July, 2001, while awaiting Senate confirmation.

Bruce Herschensohn

(??-Alive). Named one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Federal Government" in 1969, Bruce Herschensohn also received the Distinguished Service Medal the same year. He was named Deputy Special Assistant to President Nixon, then returned to academia to serve as a Lecturer at the University of Maryland and Professor at Whittier College. Among his other credits, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Pepperdine University, a member of the Reagan Transition Team, and Distinguished Fellow at Claremont Institute. In 1992, he was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. Herschensohn is the author of Lost Trumpets (1994) and editor of Hong Kong at the Handover (2000).

Michael Huffington

(September 3, 1947-Alive). Mike Huffington saw a brilliant political career go up in smoke after he publicly acknowledged that he was bisexual. But before that admission in 1998, he was a Republican star in California. As Chairman of a film production company, he was a youthful millionaire. He married the conservative political commentator, Arianna Huffington (since divorced). In 1986, he was appointed Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy, serving for a year in that capacity. In 1992, he was elected as a conservative Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served one term. Ambitious, he sought and won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1994, but lost to Dianne Feinstein in the General Election. Huffington is now active in the gay rights movement.

Bill Jones

(Alive). Republican candidate for U.S. Senate (CA), 2004. A rancher and businessman, Bill Jones was a member of the California State Assembly (Republican Leader) prior to his election as California State Secretary of State in 1995.

Goodwin J. Knight

(December 9, 1896-May 22, 1970). "Goodie" Knight was born in Utah, but moved to California at an early age. As a young lawyer, Knight was appointed Judge of the Superior Court. He then advanced to Lieutenant Governor of California under Earl Warren. When Warren was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Knight became Governor in 1953. A Republican, he is noted for his efforts in the areas of water conservation (including initiation of the Feather River Project), and the creation of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. He and Bill Knowland attempted to switch offices in 1958 and both were defeated.