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Fellow Democrat's decision shatters Davis' united front Bustamante will announce his candidacy this morning, said his chief of staff, Lynn Montgomery, who declined to elaborate on the reasons for the lieutenant governor's decision. Bustamante pledged in June that he would not run for governor, saying, ``I will not attempt to advance my career at the expense of the people I was elected to serve.'' He reiterated that position July 24 when he set the election date for Oct. 7. His reversal makes him the first prominent Democrat to enter the race, shattering the plans of state and national Democratic leaders to keep the party united behind Davis. The decision by Bustamante, who has a frosty relationship with the governor, could drive other Democrats who have longed for the governor's office to enter the race as well. Already, there's a ``strong possibility'' that Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi will put his name on the ballot, Darry Sragow, a Democratic strategist who is advising Garamendi, said Wednesday night. Two Democratic sources said Garamendi had told several people that he would run if Bustamante ran. ``The effort to keep a serious Democratic contender off the ballot on the second question is over,'' Sragow said. ``A lot of Democratic leaders think the premise behind that tactic was incorrect.'' Attorney General Bill Lockyer does not plan to run, his press officer, Nathan Barankin, said Wednesday night after the news of Bustamante. Another potential candidate, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, has also said he does not plan to run, but he could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. A flood of candidates could make it harder for Davis to fight off the recall on the ballot's first question, while potentially splitting the Democratic gubernatorial vote on the second. ``The best way to defeat this recall is to be unified,'' said Roger Salazar, a political consultant to Davis. ``It doesn't make any sense for a Democrat to play into the Republican strategy by placing their name on the ballot. Most responsible Democrats in California feel the same way.'' Still, Davis remained alive politically because of the one piece of good news he received Wednesday: Feinstein's decision not to enter the recall election. The state's most popular politician, Feinstein was wooed by many in the party and could have almost guaranteed Davis would lose the recall if she had decided to run. ``I have made my decision that it is possible for Gray Davis to win this recall, and we ought to give him as Democrats the fairest shot. . . . And all I know is the fairest shot is if I wasn't in it,'' Feinstein said in a conference call with reporters. The veteran Democratic senator said she might have made a different decision if the internal polls she saw had recall support at more than 60 percent. But she said the polls ``were nowhere close to that.'' Feinstein had no comment Wednesday night regarding Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision, and she stood by her earlier comments that she would not run, said her press secretary, Howard Gantman. In a conference call with reporters before the ``Terminator'' star's announcement, Feinstein said she tried to make her decision independent of who the Republican candidates would be, even failing to return a call Monday from former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan -- a longtime friend -- until she had made up her mind. ``I really wanted to think this thing out for myself without talking to him,'' she said.
Davis welcomed Feinstein's announcement.
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