What's intereting here is that no one ever considered Steve Wesley, just elected Controller last November, as a real option to run to replace Davis. The fact that Wesley felt obliged to come out and say "I won't run" indicates that he, and only he, ever thought he might run. In his denial is the kernal of the truth -- he'd really like to run to replace Davis.
BTW, good graphic.
What it says is there is a huge amount of pressure being put on all Democrats to announce that they refuse to be on the ballot. If the Davis camp can keep all Democrats off the ballot, Democrat voters will have just one choice in the fall election. Keep Davis or elect a Republican. The Democrats obviously think with tens of millions of dollars worth of Democrat ads the result of the recall will be just like the 2002 election. They will paint the Republican candidate as wild eyed conservative for which no self respecting Human could vote. To win Davis does not even have to get half the independents. He needs just 1/3 or even less.
The most likely result is Davis wins and becomes the giant no one can defeat.
Certainly the White House will do all it can to prevent any Republicans with stature from getting on the ballot, and Bush will pull every chain to shut of the money flow to the Republican fringe in California. The million bucks or so the Recall has raised is peanuts. Davis will raise tens of millions and spend them while the othes on the ballot get next to no funds for advertising. There will be few if any Republican dollars... Bush will see to that.
For the right wing Republicans in California the best hope is that pro abortion, pro gun control, pro taxes, Swartzenegger lets his name be put on the ballot. That way one result would be a damaged goods Republican Governor more liberal than Riordan and hated by the right wing base. When he has to do all the nasty things to fix the budget and to get that done will sign all the socialist agenda into law, you all will be very happy.
Your choices are a very liberal RINO or Davis and that is all there is to that tune.There will be more liberal legislation passed with a RINO than with Davis.