Rescue California

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Arianna is in; Feinstein is out

August 06, 2003

Arianna Huffington, political commentator and syndicated columnist, made it official this morning. She is running for governor of California.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein issued a statement today that she will not run for governor.

In a well-publicized appearance on the ``Today Show,'' Huffington said that she was entering into the race to prevent the Republicans from taking over the statehouse.

The Oct. 7 recall election of Gov. Gray Davis has opened a Pandora's Box of potential candidates. About 300 people have taken out papers or expressed interest in placing their name on the ballot.

Huffington said that the election is an ``incredible opportunity.''

What we need is a person with ``vision and the ability to reorder our priorities,'' she said.

Huffington did place some restrictions on her candidacy. She will not run if her former husband Michael Huffington gets into the race. Michael Huffington, who ran a multi-million dollar losing U.S. Senate campaign against Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is said to be considering a run for governor.

Arianna Huffington said today she believes her husband will not run, but added she will let him make his own statement.

She also said that she would not get into the race if Feinstein runs. That hurdle may be gone.

This morning, Feinstein ruled out running for governor in the Oct. 7 recall election, complicating plans of California Democrats who are seeking a strong candidate.

``After thinking a great deal about this recall, its implications for the future, and its misguided nature, I have decided that I will not place my name on the ballot,'' Feinstein said in a statement.

Several Democrats had publicly urged her to run, saying the party needed a fallback candidate in case Davis lost his job.

But Feinstein tops opinion polls as the state's most popular politician, and many analysts believed that if she ran, Davis' chances of survival would decrease.

Arianna Huffington said today that the strategy to have Davis on the only Democratic candidate on the ballot is `misguided.'' She is running as an independent.

Arianna Huffington is an author, columnist and TV personality and gadfly for decades who has moved her political positions from the conservative end of the political spectrum to the more progressive side.

She gained lots of headlines last year when she bankrolled a series of television commercials suggesting that owning a SUV was supporting terrorism.