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Gubernatorial Hopefuls Enter Home Stretch

Ferrer made appearances with the Rev. Al Sharpton and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, while Bloomberg staged a final blitz around the city.

"Let's not take anything for granted," he told seniors at a center near Chinatown, where his speech was also translated into Chinese. "We've got to vote, we've got to keep working."


Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine addresses supporters at an election-eve rally Monday night, Nov. 7, 2005, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Scott K. Brown)
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine addresses supporters at an election-eve rally Monday night, Nov. 7, 2005, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Scott K. Brown) (Scott K. Brown - AP)

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a last minute-push for a set of proposals that pollsters indicated were on shaky ground. The initiatives would cap state spending and give Schwarzenegger more power to cut budgets, rein in public employee unions, and take away legislators' power to redistrict.

"Give me the tools so I can make the changes in California," Schwarzenegger. "That's why people sent me to Sacramento, to fix the broken system."

Director Rob Reiner and Warren Beatty, who have campaigned against Schwarzenegger initiatives, added some Hollywood sparkle.

"You have to look inside these Trojan horses and see what is really there. They are deceptively named, and they are not what they appear to be on the outside," Beatty told the Associated Press.

The gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey both broke state spending records. In New Jersey, the candidates spent more than $70 million combined on the campaign, much of it their own money.

Forrester ran a TV ad quoting Corzine's ex-wife, who told The New York times that "Jon did let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too." Corzine's campaign also aired some controversial spots, including a 19-year-old who lost the use of most his limbs in a wrestling match three years ago. "Doug Forrester doesn't support embryonic stem cell research, therefore, I don't think he supports people like me," said the teen, Carl Riccio.

In Virginia, the harshest ad criticized Kaine, saying "Tim Kaine says Adolf Hitler doesn't qualify for the death penalty," referring to a suggestion he made to a panel of newspaper reporters. Kaine fired back in an ad, pledging to carry out death sentences "because it's the law."

Voters in both states were frustrated.

"There's a lot of people starving in this country, and we're spending $60 million on ads," said Bill Mirrer, a coffee shop owner in Ridgewood, N.J., among the list of Monday's campaign stops.

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Associated Press Writers Donna De La Cruz and Jeffrey Gold in Newark, N.J., Sara Kugler in New York, and Bob Lewis and Larry O'Dell in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.


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© 2005 The Associated Press