Will Job Descriptions Affect the California Senate Race?

Hotline OnCall's Felicia Sonmez asks an intriguing question: will the three-word descriptions of what candidates do for a living, placed next to their names on California's Republican Senate primary ballot, help determine the outcome of the election?

The Republican primary is a three-way contest between former Rep. Tom Campbell, ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina, and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. (Campbell leads, with Fiornia and DeVore neck and neck some 15 percentage points behind him.)

Campbell is calling himself an "Economist/Business Educator" on the ballot, despite serving five terms in Congress and working as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's state finance director. Fiorina is a "Business Executive," and DeVore is an "Assemblyman/Military Reservist."

With a large chunk of the electorate undecided, and heavy anti-Washington/anti-incumbent sentiment expected to pervade in this election cycle, Campbell may have chosen his wording wisely. And some have suggested Fiorina's executive background could hurt her at the polls.

See Sonmez's post for an explanation of how these descriptions get on the ballot, some history on what previous candidates called themselves, and how each candidate is polling.