Can Jerry Brown Cut California Down to Size?

He's a master of political reincarnation. Can Jerry Brown, first elected governor of California in 1974 at the age of 36, double back to Sacramento and revive a state economy with the lowest bond rating in the U.S. and an unemployment rate clocking in at 12.6 percent?

With the state facing its third year of multibillion-dollar budget deficits—the gap for the fiscal year starting on July 1 is $19.1 billion—California's gubernatorial election is shaping up to be a referendum on who has the best strategy for fixing the Golden State's $1.8 trillion economy. The 72-year-old Brown, the state's attorney general and a Democrat, faces no serious challengers within his own party. He's also leading his potential Republican opponents, former eBay (EBAY) Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a onetime Silicon Valley executive, according to a May 29 University of Southern California/ poll. Brown led Whitman, 44 percent to 38 percent, and Poizner, 45 percent to 31 percent.