California Republicans: The Sad Truth ...is that there really aren't any, at least not high-profile. You've already mentioned McClintock. Then there's Arnold himself. Bill Simon automatically disqualified himself for anything above dog catcher by somehow finding a way to lose to Gray Davis in 2002 -- I could have beaten Gray Davis in 2002, even after his party machine started spending multi-millions on TV ads smearing me.
Richard Riordan is too old and too cranky, plus I'm still amazed he managed to lose a primary to Bill Simon.
I'm sure there's someone in Orange County I'm not thinking of, but that's the problem right there: Nobody has enough statewide recognition actually to deliver the California vote that you'd think would be the intent behind plucking a Californian.
Actually my favorite non-Arnold California politician was--and still is!--a Democrat, the mayor of San Francisco. I loved Gavin Newsom for daring to do something constructive about homelessness around here, especially since the usual suspects ended up just loathing him for it. After Willy Brown stepped aside, there was Newsom and then a whole bunch of other potential candidates who all hated him but also were fractured into interest groups themselves. Newsom still almost lost the runoff to a Green Party candidate.
Then this gay marriage thing came along and totally changed my image of Newsom (though apparently not my opinion of him). Where once local politicians loathed him for what they saw as an uncaring platform (read more about the ballot initiative here; it passed but a judge threw it out), now apparently some national Democrats hate him for being so incautious and possibly triggering a backlash down the road.
