Both major parties are bringing out the big guns this weekend to fire up their bases: former President Bill Clinton and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Clinton will stump for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown and lieutenant governor hopeful Gavin Newsom tonight in Los Angeles and at a Sunday evening rally at San Jose State.
Before he seeks to boost the Democrats running at the top of the ticket, the former president is hitting the trail for Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez.
Clinton will campaign today in Santa Ana with Sanchez, who is facing a tough re-election challenge from Republican Assemblyman Van Tran of Garden Grove.
Sanchez has been recovering of late from a firestorm of criticism that erupted after she said during a Spanish-language interview that "the Vietnamese" and Republicans were trying to take her seat.
Palin, meanwhile, is headlining a Republican National Committee "victory rally" in Anaheim on Saturday.
But it's unclear which major candidates -- if any -- will be by Palin's side as the tea party favorite seeks to fire up the conservative base.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said during this week's debate that she won't be able to join Palin at the rally or any other events. Senate nominee Carly Fiorina, whom Palin endorsed in the primary through her Facebook page, has also said she won't do any events with the former Alaska governor.
Palin does tend to have a polarizing impact on the California electorate. Her approval rating among all state voters remains at a low 33 percent while nearly three-fourths of Republicans have a favorable view of her, according to a recent Field Poll.
A RNC spokesman said Thursday he didn't have a list of candidates who were scheduled to speak or attend the event, though Tran's campaign told Capitol Alert the congressional hopeful would be there to fire up his base.
Palin will share a stage today with another former governor, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, when the two speak at the Sacramento Metro Chamber's annual Perspectives event at the Sacramento Convention Center.
RALLY: Low-income working parents and child care providers are staging a protest of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's line-item veto cuts to CalWORKs child care subsidies. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has vowed to try to restore the spending cuts through the Legislature. The rally is at 11 a.m. at the Capitol's north steps.
REGISTER TO VOTE: Monday is the deadline to register to vote in order to be able to cast a ballot in the Nov. 2 election. For more information on registering, call your local election officials or visit the secretary of state's website.
This post was updated to include Clinton's stop for Brown and Newsom in Los Angeles
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