In 1998, voters defeated all but two statewide Republican officers, with Dan Lungren losing in a landslide to Davis in the governor's race. One of the successful Republicans that year, Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, resigned in an influence-peddling scandal last June. Bush's California campaign chairman, Gerry Parsky, said Bush faced insurmountable obstacles following the GOP debacle of 1998. In addition, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 1.6 million in California. Even so, Parsky said Bush had helped rebuild the GOP in California.
Demographic forces are also at work.
They favored Gore more than 2-1. And Californians reaffirmed their preference for centrist representation. He won on all three counts, illustrating his political clout. As governor of the largest state, the Democratic governor automatically would be considered a leading White House contender in 2004. Davis twice sidestepped questions on the subject Wednesday, saying he expects to head up Gore's re-election campaign in 2004.