Gray Davis

Joseph Graham Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942), best known as Gray Davis, is an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of California from 1999 to 2003. He was re-elected to a second term in 2002, but on October 7, 2003, he became the second governor to be recalled in American history. He was succeeded by Republican Arnold A. Schwarzenegger on November 17, 2003 (see 2003 California recall). He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Recall

In July 2003 his unpopularity became so great that a campaign to gather a sufficient number of citizen signatures for a recall election of Davis was successful. This constituted the first gubernatorial recall in Californian history, and only the second in U.S. history. The first occurred in North Dakota in 1921. While other California governors, including Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Sr., Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, and Pete Wilson, had faced recall attempts, none of those attempts was successful at forcing a recall election. The recall of Davis was successful at forcing a special election and also at making Davis the first governor in California history to be recalled. The initial drive for the recall was fueled by funds from the personal fortune of U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican who hoped to replace Davis himself. However, once Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy, the actor's fame forced Issa to give up his hopes and he withdrew his name from the race. On October 7, 2003, Davis was recalled with 55.4% of the votes in favoring of the recall, and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected to replace him as governor.

Related Topics:
2003 - Recall election - North Dakota - 1921 - Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Sr. - Ronald Reagan - Jerry Brown - Pete Wilson - U.S. Rep. - Darrell Issa - Republican - October 7 - Arnold Schwarzenegger

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For more information see: 2003 California recall

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