Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Schwarzenegger preparing re-election campaign
By E. Ashley Wright
The California Aggie (UC-Davis)
06/05/2006

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. — After the June 6 primaries decide the fate of gubernatorial hopefuls Steve Westly and Phil Angelides, current California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will prepare to launch his campaign for the November election.

Beginning June 7, Schwarzenegger will start his campaign for re-election in order to garner votes from undecided voters on both party sides. While polls show his Republican support between 70 and 80 percent, the Governor's recent shift toward centrist policy may win over undecided Democrats and independents.

In addition to Schwarzenegger's appointments of Democrats to important positions within the state, the governor has recently run a strong campaign for environmental protection. His stance regarding the immigration debate has also shifted from approving of vigilantes guarding the border to supporting more liberal immigration policies.

Mathew Dowd, chief strategist for "Californians for Schwarzenegger," said Schwarzenegger's party affiliation has not faltered.

"The governor is a Republican," he said. "That's his heritage, that's who he is. He is, however, his own style of Republican."

Dowd noted that Schwarzenegger's platform is distinctive and appealing to Californians.

"The governor has his own stands on issues that may not reflect a national Republicanism and make him unique," Dowd said. "We know that about him, but voters know that too and they seem to like it."

Additionally, Dowd said Schwarzenegger' current approval ratings have risen since this time last year. Whether those numbers will reflect November's electorate remains to be seen.

According to a recent Los Angeles Times poll, Angelides has pulled ahead of Westly. Schwarzenegger's numbers remain close to those of both Democratic candidate hopefuls.

Dowd also said the numbers look encouraging and campaign will begin full force Wednesday.

"The signs for us are looking fairly good in our image, our approval and our ballot position," he said. "His approval rating is better than the last two governors that won re-election."

The governor's camp has currently reported about $16 million spent on campaign measures thus far, while Democrats and independent candidates have spent a combined amount of nearly $70 million. Experts expect to see those numbers rise drastically with the start of the race come Wednesday.

Ryan Burris, chair of Davis College Republicans, said that despite Schwarzenegger's moving away from staunchly conservative policies, Republicans will support his re-election.

"As far as the party, everyone in the Republican Party is behind Governor Schwarzenegger," he said. "Him not being re-elected would be horrible for our state."

Burris said Schwarzenegger cannot be held to national Republican platform standards.

"In California, it is hard to get elected as a very conservative candidate," Burris said. "As an election term approaches candidates move towards the center quickly. Sure there are a lot of issues we wish he was more conservative on, but he is a registered Republican and we want him in office."

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