ARNOLD GETS BACKING OF STATE GOP.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

BURBANK - In unprecedented moves, state GOP leaders and an anti-tax business group put aside their conservative beliefs Monday and endorsed moderate Arnold Schwarzenegger as the best hope for ousting Gov. Gray Davis and putting a Republican in the governor's mansion.

The actions came as the embattled Davis stepped up his attacks on Schwarzenegger, newly anointed by a poll as the front-runner, and brought derision from conservative state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks.

``Only one candidate can win and that's why it's in the best interest of all of us to get behind one candidate,'' said Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim. ``The board believes, as do so many Republicans, Democrats and independents in this state, that Arnold Schwarzenegger is that person.''

The state GOP's board of directors decided unanimously in favor of Schwarzenegger amid concern that Republicans could divide their votes between Schwarzenegger and McClintock and hand a victory to Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante if Davis is recalled.

Officials of the state GOP had previously shied away from endorsing in the recall race, saying the party doesn't pick among Republicans in an election.

Schwarzenegger also picked up the endorsement of the California Taxpayers Association, a business-oriented group that has never before endorsed a candidate for elective office in its 77-year history.

``The board of directors views this recall as an extraordinary event, and expressed a tremendous amount of concern about the tax agenda of the lieutenant governor,'' said Larry McCarthy, president of the taxpayers group.

Republican leader Assemblyman Dave Cox, R-Sacramento, and state Sen. Charles Poochigian, R-Fresno, also threw the actor their support.

The new endorsements came a day after a poll Sunday by CNN/USA Today/Gallup found Schwarzenegger supported by 40 percent of likely voters, a substantial lead over Bustamante's 25 percent support and McClintock's 18 percent. The poll found the recall itself was leading by a 63-35 margin.

The GOP endorsement came despite Schwarzenegger disagreeing with some party stalwarts on social issues such as abortion and gun control. Sundheim said it was Schwarzenegger's fiscal conservatism and his apparent ability to win that mattered most to the party leadership.

McClintock called the endorsement a ``back-room deal'' that didn't have the support of the party's grass-roots activists.

``Under the rules of the Republican Party, the prerogative to endorse candidates in a situation like this rests with the general membership in a convention,'' McClintock said at a news conference in Sacramento.

``We had that convention just two weeks ago. They could not marshal the support to obtain an endorsement. So they moved an entire open process into a back room to be decided by 21 individuals. That is not the Republican Party.''

McClintock's campaign officials, emphasizing that their candidate is in the race until the end, said they have bought $2.5 million in advertising for the last week of the campaign.

Sundheim said party bylaws prohibit the party from making an endorsement in a primary, but allow the board of directors - not the full membership - to make an endorsement in a recall campaign. The board of directors has 21 members, and the 17 who were present for the meeting all voted for Schwarzenegger, although an undisclosed number had reservations at the beginning of the debate, Sundheim said.

Arnold Steinberg, a Republican strategist not involved in the recall, said at least part of the reason Schwarzenegger has such a strong lead is that McClintock has failed to engage him.

``He sat next to Schwarzenegger in the (Sept. 24) debate and never took him on,'' Steinberg said.

Steinberg, who believes the race is closer than the recent poll indicated, said the main task left for the Schwarzenegger campaign is to lead the drive for the recall itself rather than focusing on the contest among candidates who want to replace Davis.

Schwarzenegger and his campaign officials have generally praised McClintock - saying the movie star admires him and agrees with him on a number of issues - out of a desire to avoid alienating the party's conservative wing.

One Schwarzenegger television ad, however, did criticize McClintock for taking large amounts of money from Indian gaming interests. The ad only aired briefly, however, and campaign officials said it was not supposed to run at all.

The Schwarzenegger campaign's co-chairman, Rep. David Dreier, R- Glendora, on Monday again praised McClintock and said the campaign looks forward to his support in a Schwarzenegger administration.

``He has very good ideas and important proposals,'' Dreier said. ``We're counting on seeing Gov. Schwarzenegger elected a week from tomorrow. And we know very much that Tom McClintock will, as a member of the state Senate, be able to play a role in dealing with the fiscal challenges that are here in California.''

Davis campaigned in Los Angeles on Monday, greeting voters at the Grand Central Market downtown, accompanied by a fellow Democrat, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Davis said he wasn't worried about the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

``I think that most private polls show the recall is close,'' Davis said. ``The bottom line is people understand that we need to do what is right for our children. I think in the end people will do the right thing.''

Davis has challenged Schwarzenegger to a one-on-one debate, and continued to challenge him Monday, but the actor has declined.

Leaders of the Schwarzenegger campaign have said they do not want to debate because they don't want to give Davis the chance to share the spotlight and attack Schwarzenegger.

Davis also is running new ads criticizing Schwarzenegger's experience and voting record.

Staff Writer Troy Anderson contributed to this report.

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com