Win or lose in November, Steve Poizner already has made history.
Poizner, a 61-year-old Silicon Valley zillionaire, finished first in the June 5 balloting for insurance commissioner — the first political independent ever to qualify for election to state office in California.
His victory, with 42 percent in a four-candidate field, carries huge political significance, a groundbreaking achievement in an election that marked the decline of the once-mighty California Republican Party to third-place status in the state.