Huffington
drops out of California recall race
SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) -- Independent candidate
Arianna Huffington dropped out of the California
recall race on Tuesday, saying it was her
best hope of preventing Arnold Schwarzenegger
from becoming governor.
''I'm
puling out and I'm going to concentrate
all my time and energy in the next week
working to defeat the recall because I realize
that's the only way to defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger,''
Huffington said as she made the announcement
on CNN's ''Larry King Live.''
Huffington's
exit from the race mostly clears the way
for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante -- the Democrats'
best hope of thwarting Schwarzenegger should
Gov. Gray Davis lose the recall vote.
But
Huffington declined to specifically endorse
Bustamante, merely urging her supporters
to ''vote strategically'' in an effort to
stop a Republican takeover of California.
She urged people to vote against the recall
and then consider their options for the
second half of the Oct. 7 ballot.
Van
Jones, Huffington's chief grass-roots organizer,
said Huffington was trying ''to position
herself so she can maximize opposition to
the Schwarzenegger coup.''
Huffington,
a 53-year old columnist and TV pundit who
transformed herself from Republican to fiery
populist, drew a loyal following on the
Internet and on the campaign trail.
But
in a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll released
Sunday, she had only 2 percent support among
the most likely voters, compared with 40
percent for Schwarzenegger and 25 percent
for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the only major
Democrat in the replacement race.
Asked
about the development at a campaign stop,
Democratic Gov. Gray Davis had praise for
Huffington and wished her well.
''I
think Arianna Huffington has brought some
wisdom and some clarity to the second question
on this ballot, and I believe she's made
a contribution to the dialogue that has
begun over these last 70 to 75 days,'' he
said.
Huffington
had repeatedly criticized Bustamante's acceptance
of big campaign donations from Indian casino
interests. But she called it ''wonderful
news'' on Sunday when Bustamante made a
surprise endorsement of her initiative to
publicly finance state election campaigns.
''As
you know, I believe in conversions, and
I believe in redemption,'' said Huffington,
who called herself a recovering Republican
wife after her divorce from her husband,
wealthy GOP Senate candidate Michael Huffington.
In
recent days, the recall race has focused
on the matchup between Davis and Schwarzenegger,
the leading Republican replacement candidate.
State
Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Northridge, had 18
percent in the Gallup poll, but has repeatedly
vowed to stay in the race despite pressure
to pull out and avoid splitting the Republican
vote.
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