Davis Is Coy on Bustamante

Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday stopped short of endorsing Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in the recall election, trying to keep voters focused on leaving him in office at a time when other leading Democrats are promoting his lieutenant governor as an alternative if Davis is ousted.

The governor signaled his support for Bustamante, with whom he has maintained chilly relations, but said he would not reveal how he would vote on the question of who should replace him if he is recalled until approximately 10 days before the Oct. 7 election.

In withholding his endorsement until the final days of the campaign, Davis said he was merely following his normal practice.

“Cruz is my friend; he is a very capable person,” Davis said on the CNN show “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.”

“His entry in the race, I think, will actually help me by bringing out more people to vote no on the recall. And clearly he’s the most qualified person.”

Davis’ remarks came on a day when recall candidates made few public appearances and were absorbing the results of a Los Angeles Times poll that showed Bustamante with a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. As for the first question on the ballot, the poll showed 50% of likely voters wanted to force Davis from office, while 45% were opposed and 5% undecided.

In an appearance on Fox News, state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) said that the departure of conservative GOP rival Bill Simon Jr. from the race on Saturday adds momentum to his own campaign, as does the Times Poll that shows him gaining ground on Republican front-runner Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“If you look at the polls, it seems that Arnold is not moving,” McClintock said, even with “this all-Arnold, all-the-time all this month.”

“We’ve gone from fifth place ... to third place,” he said. “The movement is on our side.”

McClintock said he was unconcerned about the potential for spoiling Schwarzenegger’s chances against Bustamante, the lone prominent Democrat among the candidates vying to replace Davis if he is recalled Oct. 7.

Schwarzenegger, who has received enormous attention since his surprise entry into the race, was shown to be trailing Bustamante by 13 points. The movie actor’s campaign dismissed the poll Sunday as out of step with other public and private surveys that show Davis’ support to be weaker and his own stronger.

“Clearly, this is a dynamic that has never been seen before,” said Sean Walsh, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger. “In fairness to pollsters, we’ve never seen candidates like this before; we’ve never seen a race like this before. It’s much like the person who goes to a children’s birthday party and has a blindfold put on and is spun around 10 times and asked to pin the tail on the donkey. That’s what the pollsters are doing now.”

Bruce Cain, a political science professor at UC Berkeley, also voiced skepticism about the value of polls this early, but said the results suggested that Democratic support was gelling around Bustamante at Schwarzenegger’s expense. “The Democrats seem to be coming home,” Cain said. And, from The Times and other polls, “one thing apparent is that Arnold has not attracted a lot of Democrats.”

Cain said Bustamante also had been buoyed by missteps in Schwarzenegger’s campaign -- by its ties to former Gov. Pete Wilson and its position on taxes.

Bustamante’s campaign manager, Lynn Montgomery, said the candidate was not boasting about the poll results, which showed him leading Schwarzenegger, 35% to 22%. “We still have a lot of work to do and quite a ways to go,” Montgomery said. “All we’ll continue to do is work hard and make sure that the voters are aware of what our message is. It doesn’t change our message, whether we’re ahead or behind.”

Schwarzenegger added a seasoned GOP media person to his campaign team Sunday. Campaign officials said it was not part of a shakeup.

The Schwarzenegger camp brought on Mike Murphy, a veteran GOP advertising official whose clients have included Arizona Sen. John McCain in the 2000 presidential election, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole.

Campaign insiders said the hiring had been planned for some time, though several aides acknowledged being overwhelmed by the tidal wave of attention that Schwarzenegger’s candidacy has attracted. “It’s a presidential-level frenzy,” said one campaign strategist.

Murphy, who was traveling outside the country Sunday and could not be reached for comment, will be overseeing communications and press operations for the actor’s gubernatorial bid. His hiring reunites Murphy with Don Sipple, a friend and fellow strategist from Dole’s 1996 White House bid. Sipple will continue to oversee TV advertising.

“There’s no reshuffling,” said one GOP strategist close to the Schwarzenegger camp, “and no one’s been demoted. They’re understaffed in key areas and they need more political veterans in the campaign.”

It is the second time Schwarzenegger has tinkered with his staff since entering the recall race. Less than a week after entering the contest, Schwarzenegger shook up his campaign by bringing in several former aides to ex-Gov. Wilson to handle daily operations and by shrinking the responsibilities of George Gorton, a senior political aide.

Davis’ reluctance to issue a clear endorsement of Bustamante reflects a strategy not to direct too much attention toward the lieutenant governor. “The governor has said again and again, his main focus is on Question A on the ballot,” Peter Ragone, a Davis campaign spokesman, said Sunday.

“And that is the battle we’re fighting.... So the governor has said this morning that Cruz is well-qualified and an honorable public servant.”

The message is at variance with that of other interest groups. The California Teachers Assn. and members of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation are urging a “no” vote on the recall. But they also are endorsing Bustamante as Davis’ successor if the governor loses.

For her part, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who also spoke on the CNN program, said she would vote against the recall and avoid choosing a successor.

“It’s an idiosyncrasy, in a way,” she said. “You say vote no on recall, but vote yes for X. The problem is that you become invested in X. And therefore, as the election draws near, you’re tempted to vote yes on recall.”

Feinstein also left open the possibility that she could change her mind. “If that should change, I’ll watch developments. I’ll let people know,” she said.

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Times staff writer Darryl Kelley contributed to this report.