US: The California recall has turned into a cliffhanger, with voters almost evenly divided between those who want to throw out Democratic Governor Gray Davis and those who want to keep him in office.
When the recall campaign was launched by conservative Republicans last month over the unpopular governor's alleged mismanagement of state finances, only 35 per cent of electors said they would vote against it.
With the campaign becoming more a test of Democratic and Republican strength in California, a new poll at the weekend showed that 47 per cent are opposed to the recall, with 50 per cent in favour.
Yesterday Mr Davis received a considerable boost from former president Mr Bill Clinton, who appeared with him at the African American AME Church in Los Angeles before an adoring congregation of 1,000.
Every leader was human and made a few mistakes along the way, Mr Clinton said, in making the case that the elected governor should be able to serve his full four-year term.
Three years after a presidential election when Democratic candidate Al Gore distanced himself from Mr Clinton because of scandals in office, the former president has emerged as the most powerful and charismatic Democrat in the country, whose support is avidly sought by candidates everywhere.
Mr Clinton got such an enthusiastic reception in the church that he told the congregation, "You'll need to calm down or you may have me thinking I'm president again." Former Democratic Governor Jerry Brown said afterwards that his sense was that the recall could now fail.
On Saturday Governor Davis and the leading Democratic candidate to replace him, lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante, appeared together for the first time since Mr Bustamante broke a pledge by Democrats to stay out of the race.