SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Former eBay executive Meg Whitman brings intrigue and a big bank account to California's beleaguered Republican Party. And her likely entry into the 2010 governor's race gives the party a candidate with a corporate resume to match the political experience of any of the well-known Democrats eyeing the job.

But the question hovering over Whitman is as big as the curiosity about her potential candidacy: Just what does she stand for?

If she makes her bid for governor official in the next six weeks as expected, Whitman will have to show her cards on a broad range of issues, including abortion, stem-cell research, the death penalty and California's ongoing fiscal crisis.

Her stance on one high-profile issue already is known: She supported the gay marriage ban approved by California voters in November, a source familiar with her political activities told The Associated Press, who was not authorized to talk publicly about her possible campaign.

"She and her advisers have been very careful in what they've made known about her thinking on these types of issues," said Dan Schnur, a Republican strategist and head of the University of Southern California's Institute of Politics. "It was very clear they wanted her position as a surrogate on economic and jobs-related issues for (John) McCain, so they did everything they could to make sure that's where the focus stayed."

Whitman's spokesman, Henry Gomez, declined a request from the AP to speak with Whitman. He said she is not doing interviews at this time.

Whitman, 52, has spent the last year making high-profile political connections and testing her affinity for politics, first as finance chairwoman for Mitt Romney and then as a national co-chair of John McCain (web | news | bio) 's presidential campaign.

Her strategists were thrilled when McCain named her as one of three people he'd listen to, in response to a question by conservative pastor Rick Warren. She addressed the Republican National Convention in Minnesota and her name was floated as a possible vice presidential nominee.

Like Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is prevented by term limits from running again, Whitman is presumed to be a centrist who could attract fiscally conservative Republicans and the 20 percent of California voters registered as independents. But success in the primary will require her to win over the conservative grassroots activists with whom Schwarzenegger has never connected.

Her chief rival, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, has been courting that constituency for nearly two years.

Poizner, also a wealthy former Silicon Valley executive, pumped millions into a GOP voter registration campaign and bankrolled last year's defeat of a measure to extend term limits for sitting politicians, many of them Democrats.

In an e-mail sent Tuesday, the Poizner campaign noted he has headlined more than 75 Republican events since he took statewide office in January 2007. That legwork has earned him endorsements from most of California's elected Republicans.

Whitman, who switched her registration from independent to Republican in 2007, has begun her own courtship. She gave $250,000 to the successful campaign against a November ballot initiative that would have diverted about 84,000 drug offenders from prison or jail into treatment programs.

Also this year, Whitman gave $200,000 to Schwarzenegger's successful campaign to create a bipartisan commission to redraw California's legislative districts, along with smaller donations to the state party and candidates.

While her views remain largely a mystery, Whitman's deep pockets should help her define herself before her opponents do.

She retired last March as a billionaire after 10 years as chief executive at eBay and retains a 2 percent ownership stake in the company. She has not been immune to the nation's economic woes, however, and it's not known how much of her own fortune she will devote to her campaign.

Business Week has reported eBay stock has fallen about 54 percent from its 2004 peak and estimated that Whitman lost $580 million in share value over the last year.

"Money buys you a seat at the table, but you have to know which fork to use," said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California. "Money gets you media, but you have to have a character and platform that's worth exposing."

The three likely GOP gubernatorial candidates - Whitman, Poizner and former Rep. Tom Campbell - are believed to be fiscal conservatives and social moderates, giving none of them an obvious edge with diehard Republican voters.

The winner will face a crowded field of Democrats, including former governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The Democratic field also could include Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who would be considered the instant front-runner if she sought the job.

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Associated Press writer Judy Lin in Sacramento contributed to this report.

Written By JULIET WILLIAMS

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