They didn't get off to a good start.
Less than four months into Gov. Gray Davis' first term, his lieutenant governor stood on the steps of the Capitol and denounced Davis' legal strategy to deal with Proposition 187, the ballot measure denying services to illegal immigrants.
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's performance infuriated Davis, ushering in a deep freeze between the governor and the lieutenant governor that has persisted and surfaced anew in the recall election.
"There hasn't been a relationship between them for years," said Sacramento political consultant Phil Giarrizzo.
For much of Davis' tenure, his lack of rapport with Bustamante was just another casualty in a state capital fraught with personal cross-currents. But as the governor faces down a recall election, their falling out is altering the very shape of the campaign.
After declaring he would stay off the ballot, Bustamante changed his mind after U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein declined to run. He is now asking people to vote both against the recall and for his candidacy, a hedge to keep the governorship in Democratic hands.
On Sunday, the lieutenant governor accused Davis aides of undermining his campaign, the first sign that he is willing to distance himself from Davis before the election.
"If some of the governor's minions would stop trying to undercut my efforts ... we have the possibility of having a win-win position on the ballot," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Later, Bustamante political strategist Richie Ross said aides to Davis have discouraged supporters from donating money to Bustamante's campaign. The Davis campaign denied any such efforts.
The growing rift has alarmed some Democratic leaders who fret that the personal animosity between the two men could cost the party the governor's office.
"They need to resolve this, right away," said Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, who roomed with Bustamante when they were both in the state Assembly in the mid-1990s. "You can't allow this kind of conflict to continue, or we'll lose both the recall and any hope of electing Bustamante."
When they ran for office in 1998, Davis, then the lieutenant governor, and Bustamante, the former Assembly speaker, had a friendly working relationship. Although the governor and the lieutenant governor do not run as a ticket in California, an advisor to Davis said his campaign shared financial resources with Bustamante and included him in his television commercials.
