From the AP:
Like the high-profile races for California governor and U.S. Senate, the race for secretary of state pits a seasoned politician against a businessman making his first run for public office. Damon Dunn wants to lead the office that oversees elections and voting systems in the nation's most populous state -- a rather large leap for someone who never voted until last year's statewide special election. Yet the Republican challenger, a former NFL journeyman turned real estate developer, says he's a better option than Democratic incumbent Debra Bowen, a former state lawmaker whose first term was noteworthy for her top-to-bottom examination of the voting systems used throughout the state. Dunn, who has never before held elective office, adds diversity to a Republican ticket that includes two women, both of them business executives making their first foray into politics, and a Hispanic running for lieutenant governor. Like Dunn, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has a spotting voting record, for which she has apologized. "There's a difference between the argument 'Elect me, I'm not tarnished by politics as usual' and the argument, 'I haven't participated and exercised my right to citizenship but once or twice in my adult life,'" said Mark Petracca, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine. "In the case of Mr. Dunn, the further irony is he wants to be in charge of the voting process."

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http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16215223?nclick_check=1 (AP link unavailable at time of posting)
   
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•     Contra Costa Times
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•     The Ledger
•     The Republic
•     San Diego Union Tribune
•     San Francisco Examiner
•     Washington Examiner
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