Free Republic

<p>Republican Bill Simon dropped out of the race for governor for what he said was an "obvious" reason: there were too many Republicans and his campaign wasn't going anywhere.</p> <p>"For a couple of days I really had been thinking it over," Simon said in an interview with me this morning. "As the race started to crystalize, in my mind it just became evident there were too many Republicans in. I just thought it’s somebody else’s turn."</p>

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republican Bill Simon dropped out of the gubernatorial recall race Saturday amid calls from party leaders to consolidate support behind fewer candidates, a campaign official said. Simon campaign spokesman K.B. Forbes confirmed that the Republican, who lost to Gov. Gray Davis in the 2002 race for governor, was dropping his bid to replace Davis if voters decide to oust the governor. Forbes said Simon planned to release a statement Saturday saying: "I strongly believe that the desire of Californians must come before the aspirations of any single candidate. There are too many Republicans in this race,...

Per FOX NEWS

<p>Listening to some Republicans and conservatives on the possibility of winning the California governorship lately has been dismaying. "We don't really want to win this race. California is in such a mess it can't be fixed and we will be tagged as failures if we try. Let the Democrats continue to stew in their mess." Or a variation on this theme: "Whoever wins will not have a mandate so he/she will not be able to govern, especially with the huge Democrat majorities in the California legislature."</p>

Welcome to GOPSTRAWPOLL.com! Originally created to avoid a splintering of the Republican vote, GOPSTRAWPOLL.com was started as soon as the Recall was certified in July. Our goal was to have only one strong Republican on the ballot. We couldnt turn back the tide of Republicans that are running. There are now over 40 Republicans qualified for the ballot.State Senator Tom McClintock tapped into his energized and large grassroots network to handily win our FIRST GOP straw poll.Now that the Secretary of State has certified the list of candidates, we are announcing:GOPSTRAWPOLL.COM THE SEQUEL This straw poll gives all Republican...

GOP Pressures Schwarzenegger's Rivals to Quit Republican leaders are urging businessman Bill Simon, state Sen. Tom McClintock and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth to quit the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis and clear the way for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today. Sean Walsh, a spokesman for the movie star, acknowledged the effort but said Schwarzenegger's campaign was not involved. "There are numerous politicians, activists and business leaders who believe Arnold is what we need to fix California's problems," Walsh said. "They have informed us that they've tried to convince the others to leave." Duf Sundheim, the...

I want California to stand for limited government and unlimited opportunity - and not the other way around. And I envision an economy where the brightest minds and the best workers are free to create and innovate, to grow and to prosper.

When we elect Bill Simon on October 7 we will stun the nation. In one day, we will restore the two-party system in California. The positive changes that follow will reenergize the California Republican Party, laying the foundation for future state-wide victories, including the defeat of Barbara Boxer, and even carrying California for President Bush in 2004.

<p>TONY SNOW, FOX NEWS: Now joining us to discuss his campaign for California governor is Republican Bill Simon. He lost a close race last year to Governor Gray Davis, and he joins us from Los Angeles.</p> <p>Mr. Simon, welcome.</p> <p>BILL SIMON, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR CALIF. GOVERNOR: Thank you, Tony.</p>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: K.B. Forbes Thursday, August 7, 2003 AS DEMOCRATS THROW IN THE TOWEL ON DAVIS, SIMON COMES OUT SWINGING Simon to File Saturday LOS ANGELES, CA---Former Republican Gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, who has built a strong following among the grass-roots, will file for the Governor's race on Saturday morning. Details will be announced later today. "This campaign will be a battle for the heart, the soul, and the future of California," said a buoyant Bill Simon. "When the dust settles, voters are only going to ask one question: 'Who has the courage to solve the financial crisis?'...

Worse than Davis? Reverend Lou Sheldon sent out the following press release: Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, said today Arnold Schwarzenegger would create a "moral vacuum" in Sacramento if he became California's governor. "As Governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger would be a darker villain than any he has faced in his movies. And when it comes to the moral issues that Californians really care about - he gives us inaction not action.... "It is hard to imagine a worse governor than Gray Davis but Mr. Schwarzenegger would be it. California has enough problems without adding a...

The following AP story is excerpted from this morning's Washington Post: 'Terminator' in Calif. Recall Race By ERICA WERNER The Associated Press Thursday, August 7, 2003; 7:55 AM LOS ANGELES - With a surprise jump into California's recall race, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger touched off the heaviest tremors in the state's political earthquake to date, saying he wasn't afraid of attacks sure to come from Democrats and conservative Republicans alike. But the aftershock from a day of topsy-turvy developments in the drive to recall Gov. Gray Davis came just hours later, when Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante broke party ranks to...

Bill Simon’s campaign professionals are ready to unveil their new appeal to California voters with an “I told you so” themed media barrage and stump speech asking for a second chance in the upcoming recall election. Simon is and was the “I told you so” candidate long before the recall was underway. Suffering the barbs of “I told you so…” conservatives who stood by and supported Simon remember the “I told you sos” clearly. After Simon failed to establish himself as a worthy candidate among Republican voters, Gray Davis rode to his rescue and trashed Richard Riordan during the Republican...

Nope, it wasn't us, they say. Supporters of Bill Simon for governor — both last year, and now as a candidate in a probable recall election — say it wasn't their loyalists who sent out an e-mail letter signed "Team Simon" volunteers and advising Simon to sit out the election to avoid splitting the party vote and worse. Joel Strom, the Team Simon chair, says no one from his statewide leadership group wrote such a letter, and whoever did "did not accomplish the goal he/she apparently set out to achieve and, in fact, only helped to sharpen our focus on...

I was just on KRLA. I noted the Tom McClintock proposal to solve the budget crisis by cutting the budget by 9 1/2 percent. I even got my "Dimwit Davis" line in. LOL

LOS ANGELES, July 9 — One day this fall, Californians could wake up with a throbbing political hangover and a new governor. Although a number of logistical and legal challenges lie ahead, a statewide recall election to decide the fate of Gov. Gray Davis now appears all but inevitable. The campaign leading up to such an election, if it is held this fall, will be a two-month binge of fast and furious campaigning unlike any the people of California have ever seen. Mr. Davis's supporters are preparing to raise millions of dollars and are already combing the records of the...

LOS ANGELES, July 8 — Gov. Gray Davis of California, who was re-elected only eight months ago, appeared likely today to face a recall election as early as this fall after his political opponents declared that they had more than enough signatures to put the question on the ballot. Supporters of the recall movement said they had turned in 1,088,000 petition signatures by Monday and were preparing to submit 300,000 more by the end of the week. Under a state law, 897,158 valid signatures are required this year to place a recall initiative on the statewide ballot. Recall organizers said...

Dear Bill: Rumors are persisting that you are readying to actively campaign for governor once again. We hope these rumors prove untrue. If you become a candidate you WILL hurt the efforts of so many who’ve worked so hard for the last year; first for yourcampaign and now to make this historic recall happen. You will hurt the Republican Party, spoiling its chances of replacing Gray Davis. By splitting the Republican vote, you will also ultimately hurt yourself, forever damaging your credibility in the Party. We can only assume that you are getting considerable encouragement from campaign professionals to run,...

<p>A political earthquake is shaking the ground in California. Its tremors could extend across the nation, influencing next year's presidential election, and changing the national debate about government spending.</p> <p>If there is a recall election, the odds are that Davis will lose it. A recent poll indicated that 51 percent of Californians support the recall effort, a number that is likely to grow if it actually qualifies for the ballot.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., eliminated herself Saturday as a possible replacement for Gov. Gray Davis, who is facing a recall drive rapidly gaining momentum. "I am not a candidate," said Feinstein, who appeared with Davis at ceremonies to open a rail extension to San Francisco International Airport. Feinstein, the Democratic nominee for governor in 1990, had been considered the strongest potential Democratic candidate. But party officials have long been urging prominent Democrats to stay off the ballot, insisting the governor should be allowed to stave off the recall without facing challengers from his own party. Other high-level...