The Sacramento Bee story is here. McPherson is a centrist Republican. From the article: “McPherson said he didn’t know if he would run for a full term in 2006, but noted that the governor did not make that a prerequisite for taking the job. “I’m going to leave my options open,” he said.” Randy Riddle notes that McPherson once sponsored a bill to make the office of Secretary of State a nonpartisan elected position. I favor making it a nonpartisan appointed position subject to a large supermajority vote of the legislature. See here.