The Terminator vs Larry Flynt
2003-08-10 18:48
Los Angeles - California's raucous governor's race officially kicked off on Sunday, with more than 150 candidates filing candidacy papers to vie for the highest office in the most populous US state.
Movie tough guy Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday formally joined the colourful crowd of candidates, including porn king Larry Flynt, with less than two months to go before election day.
The Republican actor-turned-politician braved a circus of screaming fans and jostling reporters to put his name on the ballot for the increasingly bizarre October 7 polls aimed at toppling Democratic Governor Gray Davis.
A total of 155 people met Saturday's deadline, according to the most recent figures provided on the California Secretary of State's website early Sunday.
State election officials have said they will issue the final list of candidates Wednesday after a verification process.
Hustler magazine publisher Flynt, 61, on Friday submitted his check for $3 500 dollars and a list of 65 supporters needed to qualify for the vote.
His registration sets the scene for a tantalising face-off that has been dubbed "the Terminator versus Larry Flynt."
Millionaire Republican businessman Bill Simon and independent candidate Arianna Huffington also registered in Los Angeles Saturday along with a host of wackier hopefuls.
But it is the "Terminator" who has become the star candidate to defeat the unpopular Davis. He has transformed a state election into a political carnival watched by the world, winning a Time magazine cover story amid an avalanche of media attention.
Lack of experience
Veteran politicians are already taking aim at the celebrity's lack of political experience, and his unknown stand on the very real problems confronting the world's fifth-largest economy - including a record $38bn budget deficit.
Schwarzenegger was noticeably absent from the Sunday talk shows that are favoured stomping grounds for political self-promotion.
Simon, who lost to Davis in the gubernatorial election last year, called on the film star to spell out his political beliefs.
"We don't know where he stands on the issues," Simon told the "Fox News Sunday" television program.
Democrats turned their attention to defeating the recall vote by getting Californians to support keeping Davis in office, which would bypass a vote on any of his rivals.
Senator Diane Feinstein, one of the most popular politicians in California, urged Democrats to rally around Davis.
"My view is this recall should be defeated. It's bad for California," she told NBC's "Meet the Press."
"The uncertainty, the instability that is created is not a positive thing," she said.
CNN/Time poll
A CNN/Time poll showed that voters would remove Davis from office and replace him with Schwarzenegger by a 19 percentage-point margin if the election were held now.
Experts predict that in such a crowded field, a candidate will need as little as 15 percent of the vote to win the governorship.
If he wins, the star would be the second actor-turned politician to lead the golden state after ex-president Ronald Reagan, who became California governor in 1968.
According to the poll, he leads his closest competitor, Democratic lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante - who opposes the recall but is seeking to replace Davis if voters oust him - by 25% to 15%.
Flynt and Huffington would win just four percent of the vote each, while Simon, who lost a gubernatorial bid to Davis last year, would garner seven percent, it said.
Colourful candidates
As serious candidates were all but overlooked in the media frenzy, a host of more colourful candidates were also signing up for the polls.
They include porn actress Mary Carey, who wants to swap guns for sex films to reduce violence, and Angelyne, a billboard queen who wants to improve roads to avoid damage to her pink sports car.
California announced a recall election in late July after more than a million state residents signed petitions calling for one under a 92-year-old state law never before put in practise.
The recall ballot will pose two questions - first, whether Davis should be recalled, and second, who should replace him. A 50% majority on the first question wins; whoever gathers the most votes wins the second.