Tom Campbell leaves California governor's race, enters Senate contest

But the road ahead remains rocky, as Campbell tries to persuade the conservative voters who control the party's primaries to overlook his moderate views on social issues and his recent support for temporary tax hikes to help balance California's budget.

Campbell is betting that GOP voters are so single-mindedly focused on the economy that this is the year ideology can be trumped by his record as a financially conservative former congressman who served as dean of one of the nation's best business schools.

"I have no doubt that the party will unite behind a candidate who is focusing so much on the fiscal side as I am now, because the crisis is so great, the need is so great," Campbell said in Los Angeles at the first of four announcement events across the state. "Really never in my lifetime has the fiscal condition of the United States been the primary issue, the fundamental issue."

But Campbell was having difficulty making that argument in the governor's race, and early indications were that he was in for a bruising ride in the new contest as well. In a slashing welcome to the race, a spokeswoman for candidate Carly Fiorina said Campbell's entry was not about what was best for California but "about satisfying Tom Campbell's quixotic personal ambition."

Campbell's departure from the race for governor leaves the Republican primary contest a battle between two multimillionaires, former EBay chief Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Each has dropped $19 million into the race, wildly outpacing Campbell's fundraising. Whitman has led in recent polls on the strength of a months-long advertising campaign.