The year was 1998. Bill Clinton was in the White House, Titanic was packing movie theaters and a startup with a funny name, Google, was launching.
Voters in California were choosing their next governor.
There was a lot of curiosity about the political veteran and whether she would join the race. There was a wealthy businessman whose free-spirited advertising made him indispensable on the airwaves. And an underdog who remained in the competition despite daunting odds and, seemingly, common sense.
Those elements could very well describe the current gubernatorial race, which, as it happens, is the most wide-ranging since that volatile campaign a generation ago.
The result was somewhat anticipated, with Gray Davis winning the Democratic primary, then winning the governorship by a landslide.
Less than three months before the June primary, Davis was running in the final stages, behind two affluent Democrats and the eventual GOP candidate. Davis recalled this week that the number of people who asked him to step down would have filled the L.A. Coliseum. But he never thought of leaving his studies; The pressure made him more determined.
“Sometimes it’s just gonna have to happen. Sometimes you’ve got to get every break you get,” Davis said. “Sometimes that doesn’t happen and you don’t get any breaks.”
His bottom line: “Anything can happen.”
Of course, no two campaigns are alike.
The gubernatorial contest is being conducted under a system in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the November election. In 1998, California held an “open primary” under rules that were later struck down by the Supreme Court. All candidates appeared on the same ballot, with each party’s top finishers guaranteed a spot in November.
Moreover, the world has changed enormously: politically, socially, culturally. (Google is now one of the most valuable companies on the planet, with revenue of a record $403 billion in fiscal year 2025.)
The attitude of the voters is different. One of Davis’ greatest assets was his position as Lieutenant Governor; That currency – power and government information – no longer trades at the same high value.
The media landscape is fragmented – newspapers set the political agenda, less than half of voters were online and streaming was mostly done through water. Californians are no longer as engaged in the governor’s race as they were then.
Paul Maslin, who was a pollster for Davis and is now working for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Betty Yee, said, “There’s a bias going on internationally and nationally and people are saying, ‘Oh, OK, there’s a race for governor.’ “Whereas in ’98, he was obviously the big act in town.”
Having said all this, as Davis suggests, luck and a suitable break or two are still key ingredients of political success.
In his case, the first stroke of good fortune was Dianne Feinstein’s decision not to run. (This round, it was former Vice President Kamala Harris who kept the race suspended until she ultimately dropped out.)
Feinstein, the state’s senior U.S. senator, was nearly elected governor in 1990 and her lengthy deliberations eliminated other potentially strong contenders. If Feinstein had run, she would likely have swept the field and made history by becoming the state’s first female governor.
Davis also benefited greatly when a federal court lifted strict contribution limits, allowing him to raise donations ranging from small donations to very large sums. However his two wealthy Democratic opponents, multi-millionaire Al Chechi and then-Rep. Jane Harman, the decision allowed Davis to remain competitive and ultimately pay for the statewide advertising blitz that is inevitable in California.
Chechi in particular put pressure on voters with a constant barrage of advertisements. (Shades of the ubiquitous Tom Steyer.) One of them, Herman, included a photo of the lieutenant governor in the spot where Chachi was attacked — and she wasn’t bad-looking. The glimpse reminded voters that Davis, who had been using his resources to advertise of late, was still in the race. He got a significant lead in the elections.
Nevertheless, Checchi and Harman saw each other as the main rivals and their strategists worked – and tailored their advertising and campaign messaging accordingly. Gary South, who managed Davis’ campaign, said the result was “a murder-suicide, as it was called at the time.” “They decided to focus so much on each other and ignore us that we just slipped through the hole.”
Davis may well be familiar with those gubernatorial candidates who have been – as he once was – disagreeable, rejected and near the bottom in race-polls. Speaking from his law office in Century City, he had this simple advice:
“Listen to your heart,” he said. “Do whatever feels right to you.”
“It’s OK for someone else to say you should get out, but that’s not their job,” Davis said. “You are the candidate, and if you think for any reason you want to stay in the race, you should stay in the race.”
The former governor, who was recalled in 2003 and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, acknowledged that his comments would not appease Democrats who are concerned about splintering support across the party’s broad spectrum, resulting in two Republicans moving forward in November.
But Davis isn’t too worried about that happening. Plus, he said, it’s easy for those watching from the sidelines to criticize and offer unsolicited — and not particularly sympathetic — advice.
“They’re not running for office,” he said. “Other people are putting themselves on the line. … (If) people have the means, the courage and the dedication to put themselves in a position to run for office, if they really believe it’s the right thing to do, then they should do it. They should follow their dream.”
Plus, you never know what can happen in June.
