Schwarzenegger even promised to make nice with the entrenched politicians in the state’s capital. Introduced by “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and standing in front of a gigantic state flag, Schwarzenegger promised to upend politics as usual in California. “It’s very important that we need to bring back trust in the government itself,” he said. “For the people to win, politics as usual must lose.” Despite the election-night graciousness, Schwarzenegger’s sweeping victory came from harnessing a surge of voter anger. Dissatisfied Californians streamed to the polls Tuesday to throw out incumbent Democratic Gov. Gray Davis three years early, handing the job to the Republican outsider instead. With 99.5 percent of precincts reporting, the recall passed by 55.1 percent to 44.9 percent. On part II, Schwarzenegger has 48.4 percent of the vote; Bustamante 31.9 percent and McClintock has 13.3 percent.
Schwarzenegger’s strong finish meant that more votes were cast for him than were cast against the recall itself. Californians were furious with Davis, irritated over the state’s bankrupt budget, and perturbed about the state’s flagging economy, where unemployment runs 6.7 percent, slightly higher than the national average of 6.4 percent.
Voter anger at Davis hinged on his failure to cut the state’s budget when the dot-com boom subsided and took the state’s tax base with it. Davis’s tripling of the car-registration fee, which took effect Oct. 1, cost him votes, too. And many believe the ousted governor failed to act swiftly during California’s electricity crisis, as millions of ratepayers saw their electricity bills double.
Schwarzenegger capitalized on voters’ anger at Davis’s slash-and-burn political style, too. Many were incensed that the Democrat spent millions of dollars of his campaign money during the 2002 Republican primary, sinking his more difficult rival, ex-Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan in favor of the less formidable Bill Simon. Finally, even significant numbers of Democrats objected to what many saw as his relentless pursuit of campaign dollars.
A rash of newspaper stories in the Los Angeles Times in the campaign’s final days detailing Schwarzenegger’s alleged abuse and humiliation of 15 women had little visible effect. Neither did stories of his having once praised Adolph Hitler’s oratorical skills. Democrats hoped the allegations would cause women, particularly Democratic women, to drop the Republican and vote against the recall. Evidently, they stuck with him. Exit polls showed women supporting the recall, by 53-47. They picked Schwarzenegger over Bustamante by 42 percent to 37 percent.
The short, intense race violated many political norms during the frantic 77 days, but it wasn’t entirely unusual. Despite the belief that the brief intense campaign would be cheap, candidates and independent expenditure groups spent a whopping $83 million–averaging a bit under $8 million a week. But, true to form, on election night, the warring candidates laid down their bludgeons and sounded statesmanlike. The winner was gracious, and the incumbent loser promised to cooperate during the transition.
Conceding at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A., ousted governor Gray Davis told voters he’d phoned the winner, offering his congratulations and his aid. “Tonight the voters decided it’s time for someone else to serve, and I accept their judgment,” Davis said. “I have placed a call to Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger just a few minutes ago to congratulate him on being elected governor, and to extend best wishes of myself and my wonderful wife, Sharon, to he and Maria.”
First to concede, at 8:55 p.m. local time, was Republican Tom McClintock, who finished with 14 percent. “I have just spoken to Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger and pledged my wholehearted support in undertaking the great responsibilities the people have entrusted him with,” McClintock said from a Sacramento hotel. McClintock, the conservative who refused to bow to pressure to join the Republicans who withdrew from the race to give Schwarzenegger a clear run in the weeks before the election, took solace that his conservative ideas will survive him. “We framed the issues on which this race was decided,” he said.
Cruz Bustamante broke from form by issuing two concession speeches. Or, rather, a victory speech and a concession speech. First, he came to the podium at a Sacramento hotel to crow about the defeat of Proposition 54, a measure that would have ended collection of racial and ethnic data. Bustamante opposed the measure in campaign ads. “Finally, California is saying no more wedge politics,” he said. He also thanked about dozen Native-American leaders, despite being criticized during the campaign for accepting nearly $4 million in contributions from Indian gaming interests. A visitor might have gathered the lieutenant governor had been the Prop 54 manager rather than a candidate for governor, but a half an hour later, Bustamante returned to the platform to concede that he hadn’t beaten Schwarzenegger.
By that time, it was the new governor’s turn. TV stations cut off Bustamante’s second speech because Schwarzenegger made his appearance, flanked by the bright smiles of his Kennedy-related in-laws. Standing with wife Maria Shriver and backed by her brothers and parents, Eunice and Sargent Shriver, Schwarzenegger thanked his supporters, his in-laws and especially his wife. “I know how many votes I got today because of you,” he said after planting a kiss on Shriver’s lips.
About 8.1 million Californians turned out to vote, including 2.2 million people who mailed in absentee ballots in the days leading up to the election. Turnout, estimated at about 60 to 65 percent of eligible voters, ran high, though not quite as high as some predictions. The excitement was due in part to the unprecedented nature of the lightning campaign that began in July, when recall advocates gathered nearly 2 million signatures of Californians willing to jettison the governor just elected last fall.
Even Democrats conceded that much of the elevated turnout was due to Schwarzenegger’s celebrity, not the rise of Latino voters or the ballot initiatives. “I think the real new energy–how do you explain going from 40 percent to 60 percent?–is primarily among younger voters who were attracted to Arnold Schwarzenegger,” Democratic political consultant Bill Carrick (who does not work for Davis) told a Los Angeles radio interviewer Tuesday night. “There’s no question in my mind that that probably has something dramatic to do with the turnout today.”
Before election night, Democrats had threatened a retaliatory recall–or at least a Florida-style lawsuit–if the Republican recall succeeded. In the wake of Schwarzenegger’s commanding victory, though, Democratic officials downplayed the possibility. “At this point, I don’t see the evidence to justify a lawsuit,” Democratic Party Chair Art Torres told CNN last night. Whether rank-and-file Democrats will stay in line isn’t clear, though. During Davis’s speech, disappointed supporters briefly chanted “Recall, Recall.” Davis quieted them down, saying that “I am calling on everyone in this state to put the division of the recall behind us and do what’s right for the state of California.” He counseled voters to “put the chaos and the division of the recall behind them.” But with partisan feelings still running high–and other governors in recall states worrying that they could face the same fate–agreeing on what’s right may not be so easy.
Meanwhile, the “Governator”-elect will now need all the political skills he can muster. Both houses of the California legislature are dominated by liberal Democrats who would rather raise taxes and fees than cut spending sharply. But California faces an estimated $8-10 billion deficit and the new governor has promised to present a balanced budget come January. During the campaign, he refused to spell out how’d he’d whack spending without angering voters. Now that he’s in office, he no longer has that luxury.
