Schwarzenegger May Declare Re-Election Bid

SAN DIEGO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was expected to announce as early as Friday whether he will seek a full term next year, ending months of teasing about his political future even as polls show Californians in no mood for his special-election agenda.

The Republican governor scheduled an appearance at a San Diego convention center — a favorite venue for big announcements — where aides said he would settle the question two years after winning the state's chaotic recall election.

Schwarzenegger has spent the year feuding with the Democratic Legislature and the public employee unions, and he called a Nov. 8 special election to ask voters to cap state spending, lengthen the time teachers need for tenure, and curb unions' use of dues for politics.

The strategy has slumped in the polls. A Field Poll this month found most voters oppose the special election itself, and every measure on the governor's ballot trailed. His job approval has fallen below 40 percent.

A formal re-election announcement would put him in a possible contest against Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides or Controller Steve Westly, both of whom are already running.

Asked Thursday whether Katrina relief demands on the federal budget could spill into California's fight for disaster funds, Schwarzenegger praised the federal response and pivoted back to the special election. "The important thing is reform," he said.

Advisers say the governor wants the announcement made on his own terms rather than as a response to sagging numbers. "He has never run away from a fight in his life," one aide said.

Whatever he decides, Schwarzenegger's star power guarantees a crowded race. The actor-governor's film career, ended for now, has never been formally closed out.