Matt Ortega

San Francisco Chronicle shapes up the race to clean up the mess left by termed-out Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eighteen months out.

The conventional wisdom has a shorthand description of the 2010 race: For the Democrats, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein clears the field if she runs, with Attorney General Jerry Brown the big favorite if the former San Francisco mayor stays in the Senate. On the GOP side, it’s a battle between megarich Silicon Valley types Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, with former Rep. Tom Campbell of San Jose hoping to sneak by both of them.