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CNN Live Saturday
Gray Davis Slipping In Polls; Bustamonte Giving Schwarzenegger Competition
Aired August 16, 2003 - 16:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the battle for California, a new poll shows there may be trouble ahead for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his quest to replace Governor Gray Davis. Bob Franken joins us from Los Angeles with the new numbers. Hello Bob.
BOB FRANKEN: Hello. Maybe so, maybe not. One of the points that was made about this very strange election is that it's strange for the pollsters. And extremely volatile electorate. In the poll that was taken, 44 percent said they may change their minds. but right now, it is really bad, bad news for Governor Gray Davis. 58 percent of those questioned said they would vote to recall him from office. That is quite a commanding number. Only 22 percent said they would vote against the recall.
So, that gets us now to the question of, who is going to be running for the spot of governor, if in fact there is a recall. There's, of course, a list of 135 candidates. Up until now, we've been reporting this as Arnold Schwarzenegger and the rest of them, while the field poll shows that is not exactly the case. In fact, among those in the rest of them, according to the field poll, is somebody who has overtaken him. Now, this is within the marge in of error. This is considered a very soft lead, but nevertheless, the Democrat, Democrat Lieutenant-Governor Cruz Bustamante has shown 25 percent, Arnold Schwarzenegger has 22 percent, and the people who take the polls says that there is an explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK DICAMILLO, DIRECTOR THE FIELD POLL: There's been a lot of attention to Schwarzenegger. And the entire world has been fascinated by his candidacy. But the actual ballot itself, with 4 prominent Republicans on the ballot and really only one prominent Democrat, really does favors the Democrat? If you look at our poll, you see that the preferences of the Republicans are divided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: The possibility exists one of those Republicans or maybe more might decide to pull out if the prospects don't improve as this race goes on. And, of course, for Schwarzenegger, he's been having a bit of a bumpy week, he has been buffeted a bit by Warren Buffet. He brought him on as one of his financial advisors. One of the first things the Deomcrat said with the "Wall Street Journal" -- Buffet is a Democrat -- he said that he believes the property taxes in California are low. That is not the king of thing that wins the hearts and minds of the voters. So Arnold Schwarzenegger may have his work cut out for him. He also may have some court cases which may delay all of this. This is in as much in turmoil as it ever was -- Kristi.
PAUL: Bob, people have been waiting to see something from Arnold Schwarzenegger, you know, according to his strategies or policies. Any word on when we might actually see him publicly?
FRANKEN: Well, there's no word on that whatsoever. We have seen very little of him since he was out just a little bit earlier this week. He has been huttled with his advisors, no campaign events scheduled for today. In fact, I don't know when his next public event is .
PAUL: All right. We'll keep watching as always. Bob Franken, live in Los Angeles, thank you, sir.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Schwarzenegger Competition>
Aired August 16, 2003 - 16:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the battle for California, a new poll shows there may be trouble ahead for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his quest to replace Governor Gray Davis. Bob Franken joins us from Los Angeles with the new numbers. Hello Bob.
BOB FRANKEN: Hello. Maybe so, maybe not. One of the points that was made about this very strange election is that it's strange for the pollsters. And extremely volatile electorate. In the poll that was taken, 44 percent said they may change their minds. but right now, it is really bad, bad news for Governor Gray Davis. 58 percent of those questioned said they would vote to recall him from office. That is quite a commanding number. Only 22 percent said they would vote against the recall.
So, that gets us now to the question of, who is going to be running for the spot of governor, if in fact there is a recall. There's, of course, a list of 135 candidates. Up until now, we've been reporting this as Arnold Schwarzenegger and the rest of them, while the field poll shows that is not exactly the case. In fact, among those in the rest of them, according to the field poll, is somebody who has overtaken him. Now, this is within the marge in of error. This is considered a very soft lead, but nevertheless, the Democrat, Democrat Lieutenant-Governor Cruz Bustamante has shown 25 percent, Arnold Schwarzenegger has 22 percent, and the people who take the polls says that there is an explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK DICAMILLO, DIRECTOR THE FIELD POLL: There's been a lot of attention to Schwarzenegger. And the entire world has been fascinated by his candidacy. But the actual ballot itself, with 4 prominent Republicans on the ballot and really only one prominent Democrat, really does favors the Democrat? If you look at our poll, you see that the preferences of the Republicans are divided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: The possibility exists one of those Republicans or maybe more might decide to pull out if the prospects don't improve as this race goes on. And, of course, for Schwarzenegger, he's been having a bit of a bumpy week, he has been buffeted a bit by Warren Buffet. He brought him on as one of his financial advisors. One of the first things the Deomcrat said with the "Wall Street Journal" -- Buffet is a Democrat -- he said that he believes the property taxes in California are low. That is not the king of thing that wins the hearts and minds of the voters. So Arnold Schwarzenegger may have his work cut out for him. He also may have some court cases which may delay all of this. This is in as much in turmoil as it ever was -- Kristi.
PAUL: Bob, people have been waiting to see something from Arnold Schwarzenegger, you know, according to his strategies or policies. Any word on when we might actually see him publicly?
FRANKEN: Well, there's no word on that whatsoever. We have seen very little of him since he was out just a little bit earlier this week. He has been huttled with his advisors, no campaign events scheduled for today. In fact, I don't know when his next public event is .
PAUL: All right. We'll keep watching as always. Bob Franken, live in Los Angeles, thank you, sir.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Schwarzenegger Competition>
