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Justice Dept. OKs Calif. Recall Election Schwarzenegger is one of 135 candidates who qualified as possible replacements to Davis if he is recalled on the Oct. 7 ballot. Davis, whose approval ratings continue to fall, is the first California governor to face a recall election. Davis had hoped to keep Democrats focused exclusively on opposition of the recall ballot and ignoring the second question facing voters Oct. 7, which is who would replace him. On Monday, rifts grew among Democrats, some of whom want to encourage voters to say no to the recall, but vote for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamente if that strategy fails. The influential Latino Legislative Caucus - which includes 15 members of the state Assembly and nine state senators - voted unanimously against recall but in support of Bustamante, the state's highest-ranking Hispanic official and the foremost Democrat in the race. "If the recall does pass, we feel strongly that Cruz is the individual on the ballot who will represent our interests and the interests of all Californians," said Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza. Hispanics make up about a third of the state's 35 million residents and 14 percent of voters. Voter anger has been building since the state's 2000-2001 energy crisis. Since then, Californians have witnessed the decline of the state's technology sector and a record $38 billion budget deficit, which triggered the vehicle tax increase, forced college fees to rise as much as 30 percent and has threatened state employees with layoffs and pay cuts.
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