Gov. Davis faces Oct. 7 recall

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - State officials Thursday set an Oct. 7 date for the election to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, giving him less than three months to fight for his political life.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante announced the date a day after state officials certified that the Republican-led drive to recall Davis had collected more than enough signatures to make it onto the ballot.

Candidates seeking to replace Davis must declare their candidacies by Aug. 9 - 59 days before the election. Bustamante, a Democrat, selected the latest possible date allowed by California law.

The recall ballot will have two parts, with voters first deciding whether or not to oust Davis and then choosing from a list of candidates to replace him. People voting "no" to the recall would still have the opportunity to cast a vote in the second part.

Bustamante threw that scenario into question this week when he said he might not have the authority to call for a replacement election on the same ballot. If Davis were ousted without a replacement, Bustamante would become governor, at least temporarily, under the state constitution.

"My job was to set the date and forward a proclamation," Bustamante said Thursday. "I left it to the attorneys with the expertise in those areas to draft the language."

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