· California voters recall Gov. Gray Davis
· Arnold Schwarzenegger wins replacement field
Davis Out, Schwarzenegger Wins
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Recall Davis?
· Yes 57.5%
· No 42.6%
Replacement Candidates
· Bustamante 548,069
· McClintock 225,799
· Schwarzenegger 951,437
Source: AP
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 7) - Californians banished Gov. Gray Davis just 11 months into his second term and elected action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him Tuesday - a Hollywood ending to one of the most extraordinary political melodramas in the nation's history.
Voters traded a career Democratic politician who became one of the state's most despised chief executives for a moderate Republican megastar who had never before run for office. Davis became the first California governor pried from office and only the second nationwide to be recalled.
Early tallies showed the recall favored by 1,019,874 voters, or 57.5 percent, and opposed by 755,375, or 42.6 percent.
Other early returns had Schwarzenegger ahead with 862,217 votes; Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante with 482,376; Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock with 200,970; and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo with 25,916.
Schwarzenegger prevailed despite a flurry of negative publicity in the campaign's final days, surviving allegations that he had groped women and accusations that as a young man he expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.
The 56-year-old Austrian immigrant - husband of television journalist Maria Shriver - finds himself in charge of the nation's most populated state with an economy surpassed only by those of several countries.
Schwarzenegger promised to return the shine to a Golden State beset by massive budget problems and riven by deep political divisions.
Voters faced two questions - whether to recall Davis, and who among the other candidates should replace him if he was removed. They chose to get rid of the incumbent and put Schwarzenegger in his place.
About seven in 10 voters interviewed in exit polls said they had made up their minds how they would vote on the recall question more than a month before the election.
Long lines were reported at polling places through the day. By late afternoon, Terri Carbaugh, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, said a turnout of 60 percent appeared likely, higher than the 50.7 percent who voted in last November's gubernatorial election. It would be the highest percentage to vote in a gubernatorial election since 1982.
"I've never been so busy, ever."
-Patti Negri, a 12-year polling supervisor veteran
· Arnold Schwarzenegger wins replacement field
Davis Out, Schwarzenegger Wins
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Recall Davis?
· Yes 57.5%
· No 42.6%
Replacement Candidates
· Bustamante 548,069
· McClintock 225,799
· Schwarzenegger 951,437
Source: AP
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 7) - Californians banished Gov. Gray Davis just 11 months into his second term and elected action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him Tuesday - a Hollywood ending to one of the most extraordinary political melodramas in the nation's history.
Voters traded a career Democratic politician who became one of the state's most despised chief executives for a moderate Republican megastar who had never before run for office. Davis became the first California governor pried from office and only the second nationwide to be recalled.
Early tallies showed the recall favored by 1,019,874 voters, or 57.5 percent, and opposed by 755,375, or 42.6 percent.
Other early returns had Schwarzenegger ahead with 862,217 votes; Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante with 482,376; Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock with 200,970; and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo with 25,916.
Schwarzenegger prevailed despite a flurry of negative publicity in the campaign's final days, surviving allegations that he had groped women and accusations that as a young man he expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.
The 56-year-old Austrian immigrant - husband of television journalist Maria Shriver - finds himself in charge of the nation's most populated state with an economy surpassed only by those of several countries.
Schwarzenegger promised to return the shine to a Golden State beset by massive budget problems and riven by deep political divisions.
Voters faced two questions - whether to recall Davis, and who among the other candidates should replace him if he was removed. They chose to get rid of the incumbent and put Schwarzenegger in his place.
About seven in 10 voters interviewed in exit polls said they had made up their minds how they would vote on the recall question more than a month before the election.
Long lines were reported at polling places through the day. By late afternoon, Terri Carbaugh, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, said a turnout of 60 percent appeared likely, higher than the 50.7 percent who voted in last November's gubernatorial election. It would be the highest percentage to vote in a gubernatorial election since 1982.
"I've never been so busy, ever."
-Patti Negri, a 12-year polling supervisor veteran
