SACRAMENTO, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- News media exit polls show Democrat Gray Davis has been recalled as governor of California and will be replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As soon as the polls closed in California at 8 p.m. PST, several major TV networks including CNN, Fox News, CBS and MSNBC projected that voters had decided to recall Davis and replace him with Schwarzenegger.
Once confirmed by official tabulations, Davis would become the first governor recalled in California history, ending his tenure as chief executive of the nation's largest state.
Schwarzenegger, in his first run for public office, used an energetic, well-managed campaign with a platform based on straightening out the state's economy and ending the alleged influence of special interest groups in the capital.
The actor's run capitalized on voter anger over vehicle registration taxes, allowing illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses, and the state budget.
