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(NY TIMES) – California has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006, but Lanhee Chen thinks this might be the year that one of the country’s bluest states shows a hint of red.
Chen, 43, is seeking to become controller, effectively the state’s chief financial officer. He’s running to succeed the incumbent, Betty Yee, a Democrat who is term limited.
The first round of voting in California’s all-parties primary system is in June, and the general election, when Chen and a Democrat would square off, is in November. The state has not elected a Republican controller since the 1970s.
While this is his first run for public office, Chen, a Stanford University professor, is no stranger to the political fray. He was the policy director for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid and worked in the administration of President George W. Bush.
In an interview, he discussed why he is running, why he believes he could win and his party’s two most recent presidential standard bearers. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.
