yeah, that's what we want. >> reporter: do you think tom campbell fits that bill? >> i don't know. i don't know. i'm a little skeptical here. >> reporter: many of these mostly republican voters, at a gathering in the foothills of the sierra nevada mountains, prefer chuck devore, who has been avidly courting conservatives by claiming to be the "true" conservative in the race. >> rather than mandating that people buy health insurance... >> reporter: a retired national guardsman, devore is running a low budget campaign. he travels this huge state alone, often in rented cars, appealing to so-called "tea party" activists fed up with washington. >> it doesn't seem like anybody there, including republicans, are listening to the people of the country, and that's, of course, why the tea party thing started. i've never been so worried in my whole life about my country as i am today. >> reporter: recently, devore came to the old gold mining town of angels' camp, in northern california. this is the community mark twain made famous in his story, "the celebrated jumping frog of calaveras county.

>> announcer: tom campbell. is he what he tells us? or is he what he's become over the years?cal conservative in name only. a wolf in sheep's clothing. a man who literally helped put the state of california on the path to bankruptcy and higher taxes. fiscal conservative or just another same old tale of tax and spend authored by a career politician who helped guide us into this fiscal mess in the first place. >> wait, the sheep in wolf's clothing from outer space with the red eyes. didn't i just see that sheep breaking bread? i've got an idea. or improvise? maxwell house custom-roasts each bean... for a full-flavored cup of coffee. so you can be good to the last drop. for a full-flavored cup of coffee. band now we're insuring overts do18 million drivers. gecko: quite impressive, yeah. boss: come a long way, that's for sure. and so have you since you started working here way back when. gecko: ah, i still have nightmares. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. trugreen's taught me a lot. like how every lawn is different. some people want a place to

i want to come back to mayor, but how close tom campbell, one of the three republicans, a former congressmane he's come to her in some of the polls. former republican congressman, very popular, widely respected. does he have a real chance of pulling off an upset there? >> he's actually a friend of mine. i served in the legislature with him. >> he's a friend of mine, too. >> i don't believe that he can beat barbara boxer. i think she represents the values, the issues, the priorities of our state in a much better way. she's been a great senator for the state of california. i think the people will re-elect her. >> you have to make some tough choices as the mayor of los angeles. the budget is in trouble. the whole budget in california is supposedly near bankruptcy right now. as you try and make these choices, education, the notion of, you know, four-day school days, the notion of kids not getting the education they need, is that your priority number one? >> it has to be our priority. i went to public schools in california when they were the envy of the nation. now we're close to the bottom per p