US Mid-Term Elections: When Arnold Schwarzenegger Was Left Red-Faced by Candidates Despite Him Being California Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a multi-talented personality. He began his career in bodybuilding and went on to achieve tremendous success in this sport. Apart from winning the Mr. Universe title, the 75-year-old also won seven Mr. Olympia titles. Additionally, he is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

Further, he tried his hand at acting and played stellar roles in several movies like Pumping Iron and The Terminator. He also ventured into politics and became the Governor of California in 2003. However, he was once left red-faced by the candidates during his tenure.

Democratic and Republican candidates once distanced themselves from Arnold Schwarzenegger

Democratic candidate Jerry Brown and Republican candidate Meg Whitman were in the running to become the 39th Governor of California during the 2010 California gubernatorial election. Schwarzenegger was term-limited and hence was ineligible to run for re-election for a third term.

Within weeks away from the elections, both candidates did their best to get an edge over each other. However, both felt they could benefit from terminating their ties with Schwarzenegger.

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Republican candidate Meg Whitman also went on to say, “I’ve been in business for 30 years…and am not an actor by any means.” Meanwhile, Brown released an ad highlighting parts of Whitman’s stump that repeated verbatim excerpts of Schwarzenegger’s speeches.

Who succeeded Schwarzenegger as the Governor of California?

After some intense rounds of campaigning, it was the Democratic candidate, Jerry Brown, who triumphed. He received 53.8% votes in his favor to become the 39th Governor of California. Republican Meg Whitman came in a distant second with 40.9% votes.

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Schwarzenegger left the office with more debt than when he first came. The state had an overall budget problem of over 20 billion dollars because of a hefty deficit and differences between projected revenues and spending. He left the office as one of the least popular California governors in decades. It was certainly not the end that Schwarzenegger would have liked.