Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Mr. Universe who became a millionaire superstar in Hollywood action movies, announced Wednesday that he would run for governor of California, setting the stage for a tumultuous two-month campaign to unseat Democratic incumbent Gray Davis.
The Republican actor, best known for playing a killer robot in three "Terminator" movies, opened his campaign with a raw display of the extraordinary national media platform at his disposal, announcing his candidacy on NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
His move into the race capped a day that set the state's political universe reeling, one that began with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, firmly taking herself out of the race. Feinstein characterized the recall campaign as a carnival that would distract from the serious issues facing the cash-strapped state.
Her departure from the race, while denying it the state's most popular and prominent politician, unraveled the tenuous unity that Davis had sought to enforce among Democrats.
By late Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who had insisted for weeks that he would not be on the Oct. 7 ballot, announced he was entering the race.
"It's definite," said Richie Ross, Bustamante's political consultant. Bustamante has scheduled a news conference for this morning.
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, another Democrat, said Wednesday evening that he too was considering entering the race and would make an announcement today. On Monday, Garamendi had said he strongly opposed the recall and did not plan to run. "A lot of things have changed since Monday," he said.
The state's representatives in Washington also applied pressure on Democrats here to enter the race. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer told Bustamante that he "should be among the people considering" running on the recall ballot as a fallback to Davis, said Boxer strategist Roy Behr.
California congressional Democrats held a conference call Wednesday to talk about backing a Democrat as a replacement candidate. The names most mentioned were Bustamante and Leon Panetta, a former congressman and Clinton administration chief of staff, a top delegation aide said.
The entrance of Democrats -- particularly several of them -- would undermine a key Davis strategy since the recall emerged: to keep Democrats off the ballot so that he could portray the election as a move by right-wing Republicans to hijack the statehouse.
