If you’ll forgive a little home-state blogging report, I have some news about the race for governor of California.

The California Democratic Party has endorsed Treasurer Phil Angelides over State Controller Steve Westly. While this is not surprising given that Feinstein, Boxer, and Pelosi all co-chair the Angelides campaign and that Angelides himself is a former Party chairman, I think it highlights a disturbing decision-making trend within the Democratic Party: backing friends over winners.

Westly is a winning candidate (hear that, Kos?). He’s beating Angelides by 13% and would beat the Governator by 9 points in November. He’s more likely to be the next Democratic Governor from California than Angelides. However, voters still don’t know either candidate well and are willing to have their choice influenced by, say, weak-willed Democrats:

State Controller Steve Westly has taken a double-digit lead over Treasurer Phil Angelides in the Democratic contest for governor, but nearly half of likely voters in the June 6 primary are undecided, a new Los Angeles Times poll has found.

The race remains highly volatile: More than half of those who support Westly or Angelides say they could change their minds.

With both still unfamiliar to many Californians, Westly has gained an edge in part by outspending Angelides on biographical television ads. But neither man has started airing negative commercials, which could yet scramble the dynamics of the race. Voting by mail starts in nine days.

For now, Westly leads Angelides among likely Democratic primary voters, 33% to 20%, with 45% undecided.

[…]

Although many have no opinion of the two Democrats, Westly already leads Angelides among every major group of likely voters in the primary, including men, women, Latinos and residents of all California regions.

The controller runs ahead even among groups targeted by Angelides, such as liberals and union members — a sobering turn given Angelides’ endorsement by organized labor. Likely voters in the Democratic primary say Westly would do a better job than Angelides on schools, the economy, the state budget and the environment.

Overall, Westly has left a favorable impression on 58% of likely voters in the primary; Angelides, 52%.

Westly “comes across as very personable,” said Nikole Wilson-Ripsom, 35, an Oakland nonprofit organization administrator who likes the candidate’s background as a former dot-com businessman and Stanford University instructor.

Despite her recent media-rocking statements, Pelosi remains unclear on the concept electorally. By backing Angelides, along with my other non-leader representative Feinstein, she is backing a friend over substance. Might Angelides win in November? Sure, but probably because Arnold’s lifting regime isn’t applicable to polls.

Finally, the State Party hasn’t endorsed someone in a primary in 16 years. By involving themselves they are making it clear that they don’t think ideas and substance should be the deciding factors in the Primary vote. No, instead they want one of their own to be the pick, something that really shouldn’t be a positive factor in California. Voters want a change. They picked Arnold for his celebrity and because they thought he’d bring non-Sacramento experience to the Governor’s mansion.

By endorsing Angelides the Democrats have disappointed me again. We need more primaries and we need to keep the entrenched Party interests from instructing our votes. This endorsement may sail under most people’s radars but it remains deplorable. This is how Hackett was driven out. I am glad that Westly can continue to fight thanks to his personal wealth and I hope that his lead in the polls is sufficient to tip the scales in his favor.