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Slim Majority of Voters Backs Davis Recall Davis is the first California governor to face a serious threat of getting tossed out of office by popular vote in the middle of his term. To reach the ballot, Davis opponents must gather nearly 900,000 valid voter signatures. County registrars, who are receiving the signed petitions, say they have about 695,000 signatures; recall organizers say that they have collected nearly a million and that the balance is en route to the registrars. If the necessary tally is reached, the election could occur as soon as this fall. The ballot would have two parts: a yes-or-no vote on the Davis recall, followed by a menu of candidates seeking to replace him. The growth in support for the recall comes after weeks of national television coverage, driven in large part by Schwarzenegger's hints that he might run to replace Davis. Seventy percent of voters say they are following news of the recall effort closely. But many voters are wary of Schwarzenegger: 53% say they are not inclined to vote for the Republican actor and former champion bodybuilder; 26% say they are leaning toward supporting him, the poll found. "He's too out there," said Cal State Long Beach graduate student John Stavast, 33, a Democrat who supports the recall of Davis. "He's too much of a movie star. There's too many images of Arnold running around with guns blowing things up." Vickie Moreno, 35, a Mission Viejo housewife and Democrat who favors the recall, said Schwarzenegger "might be interesting" as governor. "[Former Rep.] Sonny Bono did a decent job," she said, "You never know." The most popular Republican replacement is Riordan, whose campaign for governor last year collapsed before the primary amid an onslaught of Davis attack ads. The poll found that 32% of voters are inclined to support the former mayor, that 37% are not and that 31% are undecided or have not heard enough about him. Bill Simon Jr., the Republican gubernatorial nominee who was also hammered last year in Davis television ads, trails Riordan and Schwarzenegger; 22% of voters are inclined to support Simon, while 52% are not. And Issa, chief sponsor of the recall drive and the only Republican to confirm he is running for governor, has yet to attract a large following: 11% are inclined to vote for the San Diego County congressman, 31% are not and 58% had heard too little about him to say one way or the other. But voters' favorite to replace Davis is a Democrat — Feinstein. Although she has insisted that she does not intend to run for governor, the survey found 46% of registered voters inclined to support her if she changed her mind. The poll also found that 57% of Californians approved of the way she is handling her job, while 25% do not. "She fights for the state of California," said retired nurse Ethel Underwood, 82, a Long Beach Democrat who is adamantly opposed to the recall. The next most popular Democratic contender is Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante; 27% of registered voters were inclined to vote for him. The poll showed that the makeup of the replacement ballot could have broad consequences for the outcome of the recall. When recall supporters were asked whether the absence of Democratic gubernatorial candidates would change their mind about ousting Davis, 8% said it would. That was enough to shift the result into a victory for Davis.
Yet the survey also shows the potential risk for the Democratic Party in having no candidates on the ballot. The governor and his strategists believe that if voters face a choice between Davis on one hand and a Republican or minor-party candidate on the other, they will keep
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