Newsom announces he is running for lieutenant governor

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom confirmed this morning he is entering the race for lieutenant governor of California. The mayor had said Thursday that he would announce his decision today. Newsom, who in October dropped out the race for the governor's seat, has said he is intrigued by the idea of working on the state level. A poll conducted earlier this year of 600 likely Democratic voters statewide showed Newsom receiving 33 percent of the vote if he ran for lieutenant governor, compared to 17 percent for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and 15 percent for state Sen. Dean Florez from Kern County. The poll showed 35 percent of voters were undecided. Both Hahn and Florez have declared their candidacy for the June primary. Candidates have until today to enter the primary. If Newsom were to win the lieutenant governor's seat in the November election, he would remain mayor until taking the seat in January 2011. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu would then become mayor until the board, by a vote of six or greater, appointed an interim mayor.