By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 31, 2008 7:12 PM

Democratic and Republican presidential contenders focused on California today as they geared up for the most critical day of the campaign: next week's Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses in two dozen states.

A day after two key withdrawals narrowed the field for both parties, the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) reported raising $32 million in January, a remarkable amount that helps position him for a bruising primary battle ahead with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

On the Republican side, the candidates touted endorsements in hopes of gaining an edge before the Feb. 5 contests.

Following a debate last night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Sen. John McCain today picked up the endorsement of California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who hailed the Arizona senator and Vietnam War veteran as "a great American hero and an extraordinary leader" with a bipartisan approach to problem-solving.

Appearing with McCain and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani at a plant that manufactures solar energy products, Schwarzenegger praised McCain for his positions on fighting global warming, protecting the environment and ending wasteful spending in Washington. In addition, "he has incredible credentials in national security," and he has shown he is willing to reach "across the aisle in order to get things done," the governor said.

Earlier this month, Schwarzenegger had vowed to stay neutral in the race.

McCain lauded the Austrian-born former actor and bodybuilder as "a great American success story" and thanked him for taking the lead in addressing climate change.

"Governor Schwarzenegger, I commit to you . . . to hand our children a cleaner planet than the one we have today," McCain said. He said that would require "global cooperation," including the participation of India and China.

"Let's continue the debate on climate change; let's continue to accumulate the scientific evidence," he said. "But suppose that those of us who believe that climate change is real and that we must act and act immediately are wrong." In that case, "all we've done is give our kids a cleaner planet."

On the other hand, "suppose we are right and do nothing," McCain said. "What is our obligation?" Noting that the United States spends some $400 billion a year on imported oil, he added, "We can eliminate over time that dependence on foreign oil, and green technologies is one of the key ways in achieving that absolute vital national security requirement."

McCain's chief rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, also stayed in California today to campaign, scheduling events in Orange County and San Diego. He accepted the endorsement of Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.).

Obama's infusion of money -- more in a single month than he raised in the entire third quarter of last year -- enables the campaign to advertise at high levels in nearly all the Super Tuesday states, as well as in states with primaries to follow, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said this morning.

According to filings through the third quarter of 2007, Obama had raised nearly $78.9 million and spent $44.2 million, while Clinton had raised $78.6 million and spent $40.5 million. Both candidates had raised more than the two leading GOP contenders combined; Romney reported raising $44 million while McCain reported $30.3 million.

In addition to the money he has raised from donors, Romney, a wealthy former venture capitalist, has poured at least $40 million of his own fortune into his campaign. It was unclear how much more he would be willing to commit, however, and his advisers were giving him several options on the size of advertising buys leading up to Super Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

McCain, trailing in the money race but leading the other GOP contenders in delegates, scheduled fundraisers in San Francisco and Los Angeles today.

Two other GOP candidates -- former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) -- continued their long-shot quests for the nomination a day after Giuliani ended his. Huckabee was campaigning in San Francisco, while Paul flew to Seattle for a meeting with students at the University of Washington.

Obama and Clinton prepared for a debate in Los Angeles tonight -- their first one-on-one encounter following the withdrawal yesterday of former North Carolina senator John Edwards.

According to the latest polls, Clinton and McCain hold clear leads over their rivals. For example, a CNN/Los Angeles Times/Politico poll conducted Jan. 23-27 shows McCain leading Romney by 39 percent to 26 percent. The same poll puts Clinton ahead of Obama by 49 percent to 32 percent.

In California, one of 22 states holding Democratic primaries or caucuses Tuesday, a huge haul of 441 total delegates to the party's nominating convention is up for grabs, including 370 pledged delegates. (By comparison, New York, which also has its primary the same day, has a total of 280 delegates at stake.)

According to the Democratic National Committee, 2,025 delegate votes are needed to win the party's nomination at its convention in Denver in August -- a simple majority of the 4,049 total delegate votes to be cast. Of those, 3,253 will come from the "pledged delegates" that are awarded on a proportional basis to presidential candidates in the primaries and caucuses.

On Super Tuesday, the committee says, the Democratic contests in the 22 states plus the territory of American Samoa will allocate 1,681 pledged delegate positions, representing more than 80 percent of the votes needed to capture the nomination.

California is also the biggest prize for the Republicans on Tuesday, when 21 states have GOP nominating contests. The state offers 170 of the 1,023 delegates in play that day. At the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in September, 1,191 delegates are needed to secure the nomination.