Tech Vets Whitman and Fiorina Win Calif. GOP Primaries

Two pioneering Silicon Valley women won decisive victories in California Republican primaries Tuesday, as anti-establishment candidates prevailed in GOP contests across the country.

Meg Whitman, the former CEO of Internet giant eBay (EBAY), won the Republican nomination for Governor. A billionaire who made her fortune building eBay into an internet titan, Whitman spent over $70 million on the race to win 62% of the vote.

Whitman defeated state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, another wealthy Sillcon Valley vet. She'll face former California Gov. Jerry Brown, the legendary liberal Democrat known as "Governor Moonbeam," who ran unopposed for the Democratic nod.

"I am battle tested now and I'm ready to give Jerry Brown the toughest election ever," Whitman said at a victory rally. "Jerry Brown has spent a lifetime in politics and the results have not been good." Brown, 72, was California's Governor from 1975 to 1983.

Fiorina Wins GOP Senate Nod, Will Face Boxer

Meanwhile, Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard (HPQ), handily won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate to run against Barbara Boxer, the popular Democrat who has represented the state since 1992. Fiorina won 58% of the vote.

Whitman and Fiorina were among several female candidates to win big on Tuesday. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, the Arkansas Democrat who faced a tough primary challenge, and NIkki Haley, the South Carolina state rep challenging the state's entrenched GOP establishment, both prevailed.

Whitman sought to capture the anti-incumbent mood across the country. "Career politicians in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. be warned: you now face your worst nightmare," Whitman said to cheers. "Two business women who know how to create jobs and balance budgets."