Whitman supported Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban that passed in November, according to the person who spoke about her political decision. Campaign finance records do not indicate she contributed money to that campaign.
Whitman is one of three Republicans who are considered front-runners in the 2010 California gubernatorial campaign. The others are state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former Rep. Tom Campbell.
Whoever wins the GOP primary will face a well-known Democratic opponent in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 13 percentage points.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown, now the state's attorney general, is thought to be the leading Democratic candidate if he decides to run — unless Sen. Dianne Feinstein jumps into the race.
Longtime Feinstein consultant Bill Carrick said Monday that the state's senior senator remained interested in running for governor, but that it would be some time before she made a decision. She just became chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, providing motivation to stay in Washington.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also are considered top Democratic contenders, especially if neither Brown nor Feinstein runs.
Term limits prevent Schwarzenegger, a Republican, from running again.
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AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz in New York and AP writer Erica Werner in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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