Indian American Neel Kashkari edged out Tim Donnelly in the primary to finish a distant second behind incumbent Governor Jerry Brown, reports the Sacramento Bee.
Kashkari who at the last minute poured $2 million of his own money into the campaign, garnered 18 percent of the vote behind Brown’s 55 percent, but ahead of Donnelly’s 15 percent.
Kashkari is given little chance of defeating Brown in November, who didn’t even campaign in the primary or spend any money despite a huge fundraising advantage.
Kashkari won the support of the Republican moderate base who feared Donnelly, a Tea Party candidate, would further alienate minority voters away from the GOP.
Kashkari supports same sex marriage, abortion rights and a path to legal citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He is best known for managing the $700 billion controversial bank bailout, other wise known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, for President Obama.
