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Who's In and Who's Out of the Race for California Governor?

Aired August 13, 2003 - 15:01   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.


JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: A week after Arnold Schwarzenegger turned the California recall election upside down, state officials are now rushing to certify candidates for the super-sized ballot. They hope to finish this evening. And CNN's Bob Franken is standing by. He can give us a bit of an update on who's in and who's out -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's probably not the most exclusive list in the world. There will probably be, when all of the technicalities are disposed of, probably about 150 people on the ballot. Far down from the 250 or so who actually applied, but plenty to just absolutely make the election prospects nightmarish for election officials throughout the state who now have to figure out how to come up with a ballot that is manageable, coherent, and one that can be counted in a reasonable period of time.

That, of course, is what is going on right now. We are hoping for an announcement at some point today on those who made the final cut. Let us not forget that there is another deadline for more candidates. Those who decide to be a write-in candidate have until September 23rd to make their presence felt.

Of course, at the same time, there are some court efforts going underway to delay this. Probably with the implicit support of the various election officials, but the American Civil Liberties Union is going to court next week to say that this is inherently unfair to six counties where they have particularly heavy urban populations and minority populations because they're still using the discredited punch card ballots that caused so much problems in Florida.

That is what is going on. And we also have going on the presence of Bill Clinton, former President Bill Clinton as a possibility. He has certainly been a presence on the telephone lines to Governor Gray Davis. The governor has made that clear, including in his interviews with CNN, that there have been a number of conversations.

Former President Clinton is said to have strong feeling about recalls since he went through an effort to recall him, the very unusual one of the impeachment process. There is also some speculation -- but it's only that so far -- that the former President may come out and campaign for Gray Davis. He is extremely popular in the state and it would be considered a boost.

Right now, with the poll numbers, John, where they are for Governor Davis, just about anything would be considered a boost -- John.

KING: Now, you say no word as yet. Any question out there from the Davis people as to whether bringing in outsiders could hurt?

FRANKEN: Well, it's almost -- it's like the old saying that they talk about chicken soup. It can't hurt. Governor Gray Davis has about two-thirds of the people who are saying in polls that they favor a recall. You don't get much lower than that until you get to 100 percent, I suppose. Besides which, President Clinton does maintain a lot of popularity out here. This is a highly Democratic state, and of course he would have recognition that would counter Arnold Schwarzenegger.

KING: Chicken soup perhaps the right way to put it. Bob Franken live in Los Angeles, where he's also keeping track of the alphabet soup. That is, the California ballot. Thank you, Bob.

This is another Arnold-free day on the recall campaign trail. But other candidates are out and about. In the next hour, another business-as-usual appearance by the governor, Gray Davis. He'll be joined by abortion rights activist in San Francisco to promote legislation concerning women's reproductive health care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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Aired August 13, 2003 - 15:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: A week after Arnold Schwarzenegger turned the California recall election upside down, state officials are now rushing to certify candidates for the super-sized ballot. They hope to finish this evening. And CNN's Bob Franken is standing by. He can give us a bit of an update on who's in and who's out -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's probably not the most exclusive list in the world. There will probably be, when all of the technicalities are disposed of, probably about 150 people on the ballot. Far down from the 250 or so who actually applied, but plenty to just absolutely make the election prospects nightmarish for election officials throughout the state who now have to figure out how to come up with a ballot that is manageable, coherent, and one that can be counted in a reasonable period of time.

That, of course, is what is going on right now. We are hoping for an announcement at some point today on those who made the final cut. Let us not forget that there is another deadline for more candidates. Those who decide to be a write-in candidate have until September 23rd to make their presence felt.

Of course, at the same time, there are some court efforts going underway to delay this. Probably with the implicit support of the various election officials, but the American Civil Liberties Union is going to court next week to say that this is inherently unfair to six counties where they have particularly heavy urban populations and minority populations because they're still using the discredited punch card ballots that caused so much problems in Florida.

That is what is going on. And we also have going on the presence of Bill Clinton, former President Bill Clinton as a possibility. He has certainly been a presence on the telephone lines to Governor Gray Davis. The governor has made that clear, including in his interviews with CNN, that there have been a number of conversations.

Former President Clinton is said to have strong feeling about recalls since he went through an effort to recall him, the very unusual one of the impeachment process. There is also some speculation -- but it's only that so far -- that the former President may come out and campaign for Gray Davis. He is extremely popular in the state and it would be considered a boost.

Right now, with the poll numbers, John, where they are for Governor Davis, just about anything would be considered a boost -- John.

KING: Now, you say no word as yet. Any question out there from the Davis people as to whether bringing in outsiders could hurt?

FRANKEN: Well, it's almost -- it's like the old saying that they talk about chicken soup. It can't hurt. Governor Gray Davis has about two-thirds of the people who are saying in polls that they favor a recall. You don't get much lower than that until you get to 100 percent, I suppose. Besides which, President Clinton does maintain a lot of popularity out here. This is a highly Democratic state, and of course he would have recognition that would counter Arnold Schwarzenegger.

KING: Chicken soup perhaps the right way to put it. Bob Franken live in Los Angeles, where he's also keeping track of the alphabet soup. That is, the California ballot. Thank you, Bob.

This is another Arnold-free day on the recall campaign trail. But other candidates are out and about. In the next hour, another business-as-usual appearance by the governor, Gray Davis. He'll be joined by abortion rights activist in San Francisco to promote legislation concerning women's reproductive health care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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