California Governor Candidate Meg Whitman Says 'We're Going to Win'

With eight days left until Californians head to voting booths, the Republican candidate for...

With eight days left until Californians head to voting booths, the Republican candidate for governor, Meg Whitman, says she's confident of a victory despite trailing her opponent in the most recent polling. "We're going to win this," said Whitman in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer.

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Whitman: "We Had to Follow the Law" on Illegal Employee

Whitman has also dealt with accusations that she knowingly employed an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper. Her former employee, Nicky Diaz, came forward in September, saying Whitman had fired her just before the campaign, after nine years of service, when she asked for help with immigration problems.

"I felt like she was throwing me away like a piece of garbage," Diaz said at a press conference organized by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred.

Polling among California's Hispanic voters has shown that they disapprove of Whitman's handling of the housekeeper, but today Whitman said there was nothing she could have done differently. She says she fired Diaz when she learned of her illegal status.

"We had to follow the law. We had to let her go," Whitman said. "It broke my heart that she was undocumented. I chose not to turn her in. And Jerry Brown and his union friends made an example of her. They pulled a political stunt with her."

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Whitman thinks her focus on jobs and the economy is registering with California's voters. The word "Jobs" is plastered on the side of her campaign bus, and she has promised to revive small business in the state by cutting bureaucracy.

"How many jobs would it be possible to create in this state by the end of 2011?" Sawyer asked.

"I've said by 2015, two million new private sector jobs, so maybe half a million to a million of that," Whitman said. "You know, everyone wants to live in California. It is so beautiful... But we've made it so hard for businesses here and for job creators. We just have to get back to the basics of 'This has to work for them. Be the Golden State, where everything is possible.'"

Whitman points to her own experience as CEO of eBay, though Brown argues that being a governor is very different from working in a corporate office. As a former governor, Brown argues he's a proven leader with the necessary political experience.

"Jerry Brown has experience that the people of California didn't like. He has experience raising taxes, increasing regulation," Whitman said. "On the other hand, I have brought people together. I have balanced budgets. I have helped create jobs. eBay started with 30 employees when I joined. We had 16,000 employees when I left."