With rising doubts over whether Arnold Schwarzenegger will run for governor, another moderate Republican, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, edged closer Monday to becoming a candidate to replace Gov. Gray Davis.
Noelia Rodriguez, press secretary to First Lady Laura Bush and Riordan's former close aide, spent Monday at his house in Brentwood helping him assemble a possible campaign team, sources said.
President Bush supported Riordan when he ran for governor last year. But until now, White House officials have kept their distance from the recall.
For Riordan, the Oct. 7 recall election offers a chance at revenge against the Democratic incumbent. Davis' scathing television ads helped to crush Riordan's candidacy last year in the gubernatorial primary.
For moderate Republicans, a Riordan campaign would also be a boost. They often have blamed the power of conservatives in GOP primaries for their party's repeated losses to Democrats.
Riordan, however, has sent mixed signals on whether he wants to run. Last Tuesday, he said, "The odds are I won't run." Two days later, he said he would "take a hard look" at running if Schwarzenegger bowed out. The two men are friends and neighbors.
On Monday, Schwarzenegger was leaning against running despite months of stoking speculation about his political ambitions while plugging his new "Terminator" movie, according to people close to the actor.
Schwarzenegger and Riordan had planned to hold a news conference Monday to make a joint announcement: Schwarzenegger would not run, but Riordan would, according to a top Republican, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified. But the event did not occur.
Schwarzenegger "wants to pass the baton to Riordan, but Riordan doesn't seem to be quite ready for that," the Republican said.
Riordan, 73, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Rodriguez could not be reached.
A Los Angeles Times Poll this month found that of potential Republican candidates in a recall election, Riordan would be the most popular, running just ahead of Schwarzenegger and well ahead of Bill Simon Jr., the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2002.
But Riordan would still face daunting tasks.
To run a competitive race in a 10-week campaign, strategists say, a serious candidate must quickly put together a team well versed in the idiosyncrasies of a vast state where campaigns are notoriously complicated to run.
