Startling accusations Wednesday that GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman had an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper for nine years have all the elements of a classic late-campaign “October surprise” – a sobbing victim, a media-savvy attorney, charges of hypocrisy and dirty tricks.
The charges sent Whitman’s campaign team into overdrive as it worked nonstop to limit the political damage from the allegations, which the former eBay CEO dismissed as lies and partisan attacks.
The latest chapter in California’s gubernatorial race unfolded live on TMZ.com, just hours after Whitman finished her first televised debate with her November opponent, Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown, a debate in which she argued that California employers must be held accountable for hiring undocumented workers.