Santa Cruz Democrats aren't known to give up without a fight.
In a liberal county where a feminist-Marxist is labeled by some as conservative, Democrats know from experience that anything can happen in politics.
So while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger flips on the Hollywood charm, local grass-roots supporters are hitting the streets this weekend urging voters to back Phil Angelides in the governor's race. The county's unions are urging their members to vote Democratic. And organizers hope for a high Central Coast turnout, to counter red votes in other places.
"I think at this point there should be serious concern in the Angelides camp that he's so far behind in the polls, and I think those polls are accurate," said Santa Cruz City Councilman Mike Rotkin, the feminist-Marxist.
If new Angelides television ads released this week don't narrow the margin, Rotkin said, he could be out of luck.
But, Rotkin was quick to note, "I'm not abandoning him. I'll vote for him even if he goes down in flames because he's so much better than Schwarzenegger."
According to a poll released Monday by the Public Policy Institute of California, Schwarzenegger leads Angelides, 46 to 33 percent. Even in the notoriously liberal San Francisco Bay Area, Schwarzenegger leads Angelides 42 to 37 percent — despite the Angelides camp's attempts to link him to President George W. Bush, who sports a 25 percent approval rating in the same region.
That's why union workers and other tried-and-true Santa Cruz Democrats are joining a statewide campaign to get out the vote next week, complete with door hangers, posters and old-fashioned precinct walking. UC Santa Cruz liberals were trying to talk other students into foregoing baseball on Saturday night in favor of tuning in to the gubernatorial debate.
"If anybody wants to host a party in their dorm room or anything, we'll definitely give them the resources to do that," said Natalie Rojas with UCSC Democrats.
Others argue that while Angelides might win Santa Cruz County, a strong turnout is still needed to cancel votes for Schwarzenegger elsewhere in the state.
"The more votes we get here, the more we can counteract those in other counties that are primarily red," said Zach Friend, chairman of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Committee. "I think the poll numbers are fine where they are. I'm not even paying attention to them whatsoever."
Local union workers, still wounded from last year's special election where Schwarzenegger tried to reign in union control, also remain optimistic about Angelides.
"We definitely feel this is a competitive race and Angelides is going to win when the dust clears on Nov. 7," said Joe Keffer, acting political director for the county's largest union, Service Employees International Union Local 415.
Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt refused to predict where the race would go at this point. A strong Angelides backer, she plans to visit Sacramento on election night to support Angelides and one of her best friends, Angelides' campaign manager and Santa Cruz resident Cathy Calfo.
"I'm not optimistic or pessimistic," Wormhoudt said. "I just think it's that point in the campaign where you just put one foot in front of the other and you just do every single thing that you can do."
