Not only that, but both candidates are Democrats. Says Tim Murphy at Mother Jones:
The most expensive race in California this year isn't the governor's race, which incumbent Democrat Jerry Brown is expected to win in a landslide — it's the race for state education superintendent, where incumbent Tom Torlakson and challenger Marshall Tuck have combined to spend nearly $30 million. [Mother Jones]
Torlakson is backed by the teachers union while Tuck is supported by charter school advocates, including Walmart heiress Alice Walton, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Steve Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs. Even stranger: While this is the latest high-profile battle in the Democratic Party's internal fight over education, the position itself is actually fairly powerless.
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