Deukmejian Predicts Bush Will Win State Without Him

Gov. George Deukmejian, trying to squelch any lingering speculation that he might become the GOP vice presidential nominee, predicted Monday that Vice President George Bush will carry California in the November presidential election even without the governor as his running mate.

Deukmejian disclosed that he turned down a request last week from Bush’s top campaign aides that he keep his name in contention for the No. 2 spot on the ticket.

“Regardless of who is on the ticket with the vice president, he is going to carry California,” said the Republican governor, who is in Cincinnati to attend the annual meeting of the National Governors’ Assn. “We are going to make sure that that happens.”

California, with its large bloc of electoral votes, could be critical in deciding who wins the presidency. As a result, Deukmejian’s name has repeatedly surfaced as a potential running mate who could help Bush win in the nation’s most populous state.

Position Stated Earlier

Deukmejian, however, has said over and over that he does not want the nomination because winning the vice presidency would force him to turn the governorship over to a Democrat, Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy.

Last week, while on a trade mission to Asia, Deukmejian sent a letter to Bush formally requesting that he be dropped from consideration.

Deukmejian told reporters at the governor’s conference that he believes Bush will win in California because he will run an active campaign, will have the help of President Reagan and can rely on Deukmejian’s own political organization.

“There is going to be a major effort to carry our state,” he said. “I think with that effort--along with the strong support of another Californian named Ronald Reagan in our state and our own very effective campaign organization--I’m confident that George Bush will carry California.”

Bush Trailing in Polls

Deukmejian dismissed polls showing Bush trailing far behind Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis in California, saying the campaign will not start in earnest until after next week’s Republican convention in New Orleans.

“I don’t think that the public at this stage is comparing Dukakis to Bush,” he said. “I’m very confident that once they start to make that comparison . . . they will definitely go with Bush. He’s got the experience. He’s got the leadership. He’s demonstrated along with the Reagan Administration that they have been able to bring prosperity to the country and we’re probably closer today to a more permanent world peace than we ever have been in the past.”

Before he sent the letter to Bush formally withdrawing his name from consideration, Deukmejian said Bush campaign advisers James Baker and Bob Kimmet reached him by telephone during his trade mission in Asia and asked him to remain in the running.

“They wanted me to . . . more or less be a viable candidate,” he said. “They just wanted me to give the vice president, I suppose, all of the options that he could possibly have.”

No Interest in Job

However, the governor said he told them he is not interested in the job and would not fill out a background questionnaire they sent him.

While considerable attention has been focused on Deukmejian’s national political prospects, he has been searching for a nominee of his own to fill the post of state treasurer--and perhaps become his successor as leader of the Republican Party in California.

But Deukmejian said he still has not been able to decide on a candidate since the rejection of his first nominee, Rep. Daniel E. Lungren, by the Legislature.

“I’ve have been hoping to do it before now,” he said. “I’d like to do it as quickly as I possibly can.” Asked what his timetable is for the decision, Deukmejian said, “It was yesterday.”