Schwarzenegger gets boost as GOP's Simon exits recall race

LOS ANGELES -- Republican Bill Simon dropped out of California's gubernatorial recall race Saturday, boosting the position of GOP front-runner Arnold Schwarzenegger amid calls from party leaders to narrow the Republican field.

"I strongly believe that the desire of Californians must come before the aspirations of any single candidate," Simon said in a statement released by his campaign. "There are too many Republicans in this race and the people of this state simply cannot risk a continuation of the Gray Davis legacy."

Recent statewide polls have shown Schwarzenegger far ahead of other Republicans but still running neck-and-neck with the only high-profile Democrat on the list of replacement candidates, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

Leaders and donors in both parties, worried about splitting the vote Oct. 7 if Gov. Davis is recalled, have started lining up behind the two front runners -- Republicans largely supporting the actor and Democrats favoring a "No on recall, yes on Bustamante" strategy as a hedge against losing the governor's office.

Republican leaders also have stepped up pressure on GOP candidates trailing Schwarzenegger in the polls.

"We want everyone to rally around and provide support for the strongest leader that we would have in this state, and that's Arnold Schwarzenegger," Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., told Fox News after Simon's statement. Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee, is a Schwarzenegger adviser.

The Lincoln Club of Orange County, which includes some of the state's top Republican donors, endorsed Schwarzenegger on Friday and called on the other Republican candidates to abandon the race.

No endorsement

Simon did not endorse another candidate but might do so later, campaign spokesman K.B. Forbes said. Forbes denied that Simon was pressured by the party to drop his campaign.

"There was absolutely no pressure, no phone calls -- this was a decision made by Bill Simon based on rational conclusions," Forbes said. Simon had been the GOP candidate for governor in 2002 when Davis won re-election.

His decision leaves three leading Republicans among the 135 candidates on the ballot still vying to replace Davis: Schwarzenegger, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth and state Sen. Tom McClintock. U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who largely funded the recall effort, stepped aside earlier this month.

In a statement Saturday, Schwarzenegger said he hoped Simon's decision unifies the party.

"Bill has strong convictions and a passion for ideas that will benefit California and its people. He will continue to be a force for change," the statement said. "I hope Bill's personal sacrifice will serve to unify Republicans and other Californians who are eager to join the movement to give California back its future."

McClintock campaign spokesman Joe Giardiello repeated Saturday that McClintock would stay in the race and took a fresh shot at Schwarzenegger, saying the recall is now "a race between Gray Davis' right-hand man, an untested candidate who may or may or may not raise taxes, and McClintock, who has been fighting for fiscal reforms that we need for 20 years."

Ueberroth consultant Dan Schnur said Ueberroth also was staying in and was not feeling pressure to get out. Ueberroth, chief organizer of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, is seeking to present himself as an independent and tested problem-solver.

A Davis spokesman dismissed Simon's departure as "irrelevant."

"We're still focused on defeating question one on the ballot," said Gabriel Sanchez, spokesman for Davis' campaign committee. "Question two has become a sideshow with one less clown."

The first question on the ballot asks if the governor should be recalled. The second asks which person among the list of candidates should replace him. Simon's name will still appear on that list, even though he won't be actively campaigning, because it is too late to remove it.

Davis, whose popularity has plunged amid California's $38 billion budget deficit, its energy crisis and its slumping economy, has branded the Republican-led drive to oust him "a hostile takeover by the right."

Simon, the son of former U.S. Treasury secretary William E. Simon Sr., is a social conservative who was a political unknown before his surprise win in the Republican primary last year. He ran a stumbling campaign and lost to Davis by five percentage points in November.

The Los Angeles businessman entered the recall election with support from a band of loyalists, but he was not getting the contributions or endorsements he needed.

As recently as this week, though, Simon insisted he would stay in the race and spend his own money to win. Asked Thursday in Fresno whether he would drop out if polls continued to show him lagging, he said, "If Moses had taken a poll, he'd still be in Egypt."

Forbes said Simon informed senior staff of his decision Friday evening and called Schwarzenegger Saturday morning. Forbes said Simon would not be available for interviews.