Carly Fiorina battles Tom Campbell and Chuck DeVore for a Senate seat.
(Creative Commons)

With all the attention being paid to Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner's race to the finish line (slightly less of a race now that Whitman's sitting on a 25-point lead) it's easy to forget that there are a number of other races whose final two contenders will be decided tomorrow.

The Senate race pits former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina against former U.S. Representative Tom Campbell and assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

Fiorina, like Whitman, is a businesswoman taking a crack at the political world. She has come in touting conservative policies and a business perspective, though opponents point out Fiorina did not have the best record at HP, where she was eventually fired. She has been endorsed by Sarah Palin, for whatever that's worth.

Campbell, meanwhile, has been lurking in the political shadows for a while. Now on his third run for Senator, Campbell served five terms as a U.S. Representative and worked as Governor Schwarzenegger's budget chief, playing a key role in the governor's plan to cap state spending, which proved hugely unpopular among voters. More moderate than Fiorina, Campbell's time in Congress was marked by little success and disagreements with both parties. Still, polls show that if the Republicans want to take down incumbent Senator Barbara Boxer in November, Campbell is their best bet. Most major California newspapers have endorsed Campbell, but Fiorina has the lead among voters, according to polls.

DeVore is the most conservative of the three. His chances of winning the nomination are slim, but some experts say that Fiorina and DeVore might split the uber-conservative vote, opening the door for Campbell.

The race for the attorney general spot vacated by Jerry Brown is more crowded and almost as contentious, which isn't surprising, given that at stake is the chance to challenge the President's health care reform, figure out how to reduce the prison population and potentially oversee changes to marijuana sales.

There are six Democratic candidates, three of whom are qualified for the job, according to a Los Angeles Times editorial.

Those three are Kamala Harris, San Francisco District Attorney, Chris Kelly, a former Facebook executive, and Ted Lieu, an assemblyman from Torrance. Kelly is the only candidate to never hold an elected office, but he mentions that he worked with 50 attorneys while trying to improve security at Facebook. (Harris has used the recent outcry over Facebook's privacy policy to try to turn voters away from Kelly.) Lieu wants to end mortgage industry abuse and Harris has promised to be tough on crime.

The Republican campaign has been especially nasty (which is really saying something, given Harris' Facebook remarks). L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley is the front-runner to win the general election but, as with Campbell, it's unclear that he'll make it past June 8. Cooley faces competition from State Senator Tom Harman and former Chapman University School of Law Dean John Eastman, both of whom bill themselves as conservative alternatives to the moderate Cooley.

The lieutenant governor's race features some popular names in California politics (and some most people have never heard of). Three candidates are in contention for the Republican nomination and two for the Democratic.

Current Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, appointed to fill in when John Garamendi left, has been endorsed by the Los Angeles Times for his "pragmatic centrism." State Senator Sam Aanestad touts a classic Republican platform - less taxes, more freedom - and is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, the National Tax Limitation Committee, and the California Pro Life Council, among others. Orange County attorney Scott Levitt says he wants to reduce government and get rid of taxes that are "destroying the free market system."

On the Democratic side are familiar faces Janice Hahn, the Los Angeles City Councilwoman who co-authored the resolution to boycott Arizona in response to that state's immigration law, and Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco mayor whose charisma and politics made him the early favorite among young voters during his abbreviated run for governor. Hahn says she will focus on economy and developing jobs, Newsom on the environment and education.

The race for the treasurer and controller positions won't feature much competition this time around, as one candidate on each side has already pulled ahead from the pack. But these races will be interesting, as the two Democrats seeking re-election are forced to face the anti-incumbent attitude that has taken over recently.

Democrat Bill Lockyer is looking for re-election as state treasurer, facing Republican State Senator Mimi Walters. Walters says she will limit government spending and borrowing while lowering taxes; Lockyer promises to invest effectively and to work for a balanced state budget.

Democrat John Chiang is hoping to maintain his seat as state controller, squaring off against Republican State Senator Tony Strickland, who was recruited by Whitman to run for the position.