Ahnold's reelection (California 2006)

[old timey villain]

Apparently Schwarzenegger's approval ratings were low in spring 2006, yet he went on to beat his Democratic opponent by 17 points in blue California in a Democratic wave year. He won several Bay Area counties and almost won Marin, which is typically incredibly supportive of Democrats. He also cleaned up in Southern California, which may not be as liberal as the Bay Area but still tends to lean to the left.

So who were these Kerry/Schwarzenegger or Obama/Schwarzenegger voters who supported a guy who  vetoed a gay marriage bill and cozied up to the likes of George Bush and John McCain?

[Maxwell]

Apparently Schwarzenegger's approval ratings were low in spring 2006, yet he went on to beat his Democratic opponent by 17 points in blue California in a Democratic wave year. He won several Bay Area counties and almost won Marin, which is typically incredibly supportive of Democrats. He also cleaned up in Southern California, which may not be as liberal as the Bay Area but still tends to lean to the left.

So who were these Kerry/Schwarzenegger or Obama/Schwarzenegger voters who supported a guy who  vetoed a gay marriage bill and cozied up to the likes of George Bush and John McCain?

Schwarzenegger moved to the left on fiscal issues and was dedicated to power and giving himself more of it. Well that, and it seems Californians love to re-elect their governors (even Gray freakin' Davis).

[RedSLC]

I also read that the democratic candidate, Phil Angelides, generally ran a poor campaign, and also had a disadvantage in name recognition.

Also, at the municipal level, you can see tons normally dem-supporting cities that went to Schwarzenegger this election, including, but not limited to:
-San Diego
-Long Beach
-Everything in Orange County (Even Santa Ana, which gave Obama more than 60 percent of the vote)
-Chico
-Sacramento (A city where Obama got over 70 percent of the vote)
-San Jose
-South Lake Tahoe
-El Centro
-Burbank
-Glendale
-Pasadena
-Palm Springs
-Stockton
-San Luis Obispo
-Santa Barbara

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The negative Democratic primary hurt Angelides, while Arnold was popular with low information voters who didn't pay much attention. The media ran articles about how no one knew Angelides position. Of course the media was too lazy to go to his website, where he gave his position on every issue under the sun.