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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Whitman Ad Misfires

A Meg Whitman ad falsely accuses her opponent in the California GOP gubernatorial primary of presiding over a spending increase of nearly 14 percent in the department he headed as state insurance commissioner. The true increase is half that.

The smackdown between Whitman and Steve Poizner has tightened up in the weeks since we found big factual problems in one of Poizner’s ads last month. Both candidates are straining to cast themselves as "real" Republicans and to label the other as a RINO –

Caucus vs. Primary

Q: What is the difference between a caucus and a primary?
A: In presidential campaigns, a caucus is a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support and select delegates for nominating conventions. A primary is a statewide voting process in which voters cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates.