FLASHREPORT

Given that incumbent State Treasurer (and former Attorney General and Senate President Pro-Tem) Bill Lockyer has been a "high profile" public official for decades...  It will come as sobering news to him that nearly half of all California voters have no idea who he is...

This will be especially troubling news to Lockyer because of two very important additional factors -- the first is that 2010 is shaping up, nationally, to be a good year for Republicans, the second is that thanks to a VERY competitive race for Governor and a GOP nominee in Meg Whitman who is bringing record resources to bear, the GOP ticket this year in California specifically will be strong.

Enter into the equation State Senator Mimi Walters.  Walters is known for being a smart, tenacious candidate who will be campaigning all around the state as the GOP's nominee for Treasurer.

The Walters campaign recently tagged some questions into a statewide survey from respected public opinion polling firm Public Opinion Strategies.  Here are some interesting data points that Walters' consultant, Dave Gilliard, culled from the survey (taken July 11-14, 800 likely voters polled)...

• 62% of Likely Voters say it's TIME FOR SOMEONE NEW to be elected Treasurer.
• Only 23% of Likely Voters say LOCKYER SHOULD BE RE-ELECTED.
• Lockyer manages to get just 30% (to Walters' 23%) of the vote when matched up with the 5 other candidates running for Treasurer.
• Republican Walters trails Lockyer by just 7 points - in spite of Lockyer's large name ID advantage (55% of heard of Lockyer - 20% of heard of Walters).
• 79% of Likely Voters say California is on the WRONG TRACK.
• Lockyer's numbers are extraordinarily weak for a long-time incumbent and reflect the very strong anti-incumbent, anti-Sacramento attitude of likely November voters. 
• In 1994, Republican Matt Fong took advantage of a similar political environment to capture the Treasurer's seat. Mimi Walters is poised to do the same in 2010.        

It is clear that in this election cycle -- it is "game on" for every race.  With competitive races at the top of the ticket for Governor and U.S. Senate, look for potential Republican victories in any statewide office.