Anyone watching the California Governors election?

Kashkari struggles to hit partisan balance in debate with Gov. Brown

To Californians who shun Republicans, gubernatorial hopeful Neel Kashkari takes pains to show he’d break with party tradition if elected: He backs same-sex marriage, federal action against global warming and drivers licenses for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

At the same time, he tries to reassure Republicans that he’d uphold conservative values. He promises to fight “union bosses,” stop what he calls reckless spending on a $68-billion bullet train and slash environmental rules that can hamstring business.

It’s a dilemma that bedevils not just Kashkari, but all of the party’s statewide candidates for the foreseeable future: how to be just enough of a Republican, but not too much.