DEAD HEAT MINUS STEAM ANGELIDES, WESTLY STILL DRAW YAWNS.

Byline: HARRISON SHEPPARD Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- The race for the Democratic nomination for governor enters its final stretch this week in a virtual tie, with a large chunk of voters still undecided -- and unimpressed by their two choices in the June 6 primary.

In part, analysts said, the two Democratic candidates -- state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly -- have to overcome voter fatigue. With the recall in 2003 and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election last year, statewide voters have not had an off year from the barrage of TV ads and campaign rallies since 2001.

``I think there is a lack of enthusiasm for the two candidates,'' said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the University of Southern California. ``I think the whole country is in a very sour mood. People are not happy about the way government is performing at all.''

A poll released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California found Angelides with a slight edge, 35 percent to 32 percent, within the poll's margin of error. That was a big improvement for the treasurer, who was 13 points behind in a Los Angeles Times poll last month.

Since that earlier poll, Angelides won the California Democratic Party's official endorsement, and both candidates have turned to airing negative attacks.

The PPIC poll also found one-third of Democratic voters are still undecided -- significantly more than the one-fourth who were undecided at this stage in each of the last two gubernatorial races.

PPIC Poll Director Mark Baldassare said voters are following the race and the issues, and relatively high numbers have seen the TV ads, but they just can't seem to make up their minds.

``I think we're at a very fluid stage of the election,'' he said. ``With one-third of the voters undecided, it's very hard to say whether ... those voters are going to suddenly make up their minds, or decide they're going to opt out, in which case it would be a very close election.''

Baldassare said there is a ``disconnect'' between the issues voters are most interested in -- education, immigration and the economy -- and the issues the candidates are using to attack each other: taxes and sources of campaign donations.

Part of the reason for the voter disconnect and the negative campaign is inability to distinguish between positions of the two candidates, Jeffe said.

``There's very little daylight on the stands on policies between the two,'' she said.

A cursory look at the candidates demonstrates more similarities than differences. Both are wealthy, well-educated, middle-aged white males. Both currently hold statewide office. Both have been active in party politics for years. Both can also tout successful private-sector experience -- Westly as an early executive of eBay and Angelides as a Sacramento-area developer.

The differences are subtle. Angelides is seen as a little more liberal, a little more the political insider. He once served as California Democratic Party chairman -- a post that Westly had also, unsuccessfully, sought in the past -- and has racked up more prestigious endorsements from party leaders like Sen. Dianne Feinstein and labor groups including the California Teachers Association.

Westly, who has been funding his campaign mainly from his own pockets, has portrayed himself as an outsider with corporate experience, and he has tried a more populist route in his campaign, with town hall-style forums and a two-week bus tour of the state.

One of the more visible differences between the men is their attitude toward taxes. Angelides would like to increase taxes on the wealthy and close corporate tax loopholes to help fund increases in education and other state programs.

Westly has not ruled out tax increases altogether, but views them as a last resort. Instead, he has proposed government reforms such as improved collection of past-due taxes and dedicating more lottery funds to education.

One of the other major differences is how the two have responded to Schwarzenegger. Angelides was a critic of the governor from the very beginning.

Westly was a Schwarzenegger ally in his first year, supporting him on his economic recovery plan. But Westly has since turned against the governor, saying he has failed to live up to his promises, including fully funding education.

Angelides has tried to paint Westly as ``Arnold lite'' or ``also Arnold,'' saying voters would get more of the same if they elected him. Westly has noted that other Democrats also supported Schwarzenegger's economic recovery plan when he did, including current prominent supporters of Angelides.

Westly has launched a series of ads attacking Angelides' environmental record as a developer. Angelides has touted his environmental credentials and endorsements from environmental groups, though some like the Sierra Club have endorsed both Democratic candidates.

The two will also have to overcome a general decline in political participation that California has experienced in the last decade. During the 1994 gubernatorial race, 74 percent of the state's eligible voters were registered, according to Secretary of State Bruce McPherson's office. Today that figure has dropped to 68 percent.

Similarly, the percentage of those who decline to state a party preference has increased from 10 percent in 1994 to 18 percent this year.

California has almost 15.6 million registered voters, an increase from the 14 million in 1994. Democrats still outnumber Republicans, 42.7 to 34.6, but the state's majority party has faced a steeper rate of decline in recent years. In 1994, Democrats were 48.9 percent of the electorate and Republicans were 37.1 percent.

Los Angeles County currently has 3.8 million registered voters, with a 50-27 split between Democrats and Republicans.

In the 2002 primary, with a competitive Republican race, 34.6 percent of the state's registered voters turned out. In 1998, with competitive races in both parties, turnout was 42.5 percent.

Both candidates plan a frantic last week of campaigning to try to break through to voters who have yet to make up their minds.

Westly began a bus tour of the state Wednesday and plans to stay on the road until Election Day, visiting more than 30 cities of all sizes and in all parts of the state.

``We're talking to voters where they live and work about the issues they care about,'' said Westly campaign spokesman Nick Velasquez.

Angelides also plans to continue traveling up and down California.

``I think in the final 11 days this race is going to crystallize, because there are real differences,'' he said. ``I'm going to keep sharpening those differences.''

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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