Schwarzenegger Buoyed by Latest Calif Poll Numbers
Wed October 01, 2003 12:53 PM ET
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger -- an actor and bodybuilder who never spent a day in public office -- showed increasing confidence on Wednesday that he would become California's governor in six days as a new poll showed him far in the lead.
A Los Angeles Times poll of 815 likely voters published on Wednesday showed 56 percent favored recalling incumbent governor Gray Davis, an act so rare in American politics that it has happened only once before and that was in faraway North Dakota.
Of the replacement candidates, 40 percent favored Republican Schwarzenegger, compared with 32 percent for his nearest rival, Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
"In the last few days there is a great rhythm that we have, everything is going really well with our campaign," Schwarzenegger told an evening news conference on Tuesday. "I'm very excited because everything is going well."
Schwarzenegger staffers privately said they expected to take office the week following the Oct. 7 election to allow time for the vote to be certified and for Davis to make a dignified departure.
The actor, who presents himself as leading a people's revolution against conventional politics, scheduled a speech for later on Wednesday on "his governing agenda for the first 100 days of his administration."
The Los Angeles Times poll showed a dramatic shift toward Schwarzenegger. He has made double-digit gains since the last Times poll among Republicans, independents, whites, senior citizens, women and other key voting blocs. The earlier poll had Bustamante in the lead with 30 percent, followed by Schwarzenegger at 25 percent.
The poll had a three percent margin of error.
ELECTION OR CIRCUS
Bustamante, once seen as an Democratic insurance policy in a state where that party enjoys a strong majority, has seen his campaign falter after a court ruled that he had broke campaign contribution rules. He has taken a lower profile than his rivals in recent days.
Austrian-born Schwarzenegger is intensifying his campaigning by contrast, and plans to launch a four-day bus tour on Thursday starting from San Diego in the south to the capital Sacramento in the northern part of the state.
Arianna Huffington, a minor but colorful and vocal candidate, dropped out of the race on Tuesday evening, saying she wanted to devote her efforts to defeating Schwarzenegger.
The actor appeared at a Tuesday night fund-raiser in San Francisco, the most liberal area of the state and bastion of Davis support. Comedian Dana Carvey warmed up the crowd by performing as his faux Austrian accented character Hans of "Saturday Night Live" fame.
When Carvey, in character as Hans, made an unexpected appearance during an otherwise serious news conference with Schwarzenegger, one British reporter shouted: "Is this an election or a circus?"
With 131 candidates in the race including a porno actress and a sumo wrestler, it is a question that many Californians have asked in recent weeks.
Davis is still fighting hard to save his job after three decades in state politics and has stepped up his criticism of Schwarzenegger.
After recent appearances with former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, he was due to campaign in Los Angeles with Democratic Presidential candidate Wesley Clark, the retired U.S. army general.
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