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Incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger was reelected for a second term as governor Tuesday night as support from voters put him thousands of votes ahead of Democratic challenger Phil Angelides.

The actor-turned-politician won his first term in 2003 as part of an effort to recall Gray Davis. With 66.3 percent of California precincts reported, Schwarzenegger was declared winner early Wednesday morning with nearly 57 percent of the overall votes. Angelides pooled 38 percent of votes.

“I love doing sequels,” Schwarzenegger said shortly after the announcement. “This, without any doubt, is my favorite sequel.”

Encouraged by applause and cheers during the speech he made at a victory rally in nearby Beverly Hills soon after the announcement, Schwarzenegger declared that “the people have given us a mandate ... to move the state ahead.”

But the Republican victory in California did not reflect the results for gubernatorial races nationwide. Democratic governors claimed six states that previously had Republicans in office.

And based on exit polls conducted by the Daily Bruin, UCLA students favored the Democratic candidate. Of those polled, 61 percent voted for Angelides while 28.5 percent supported Schwarzenegger and 8 percent picked other candidates.

Schwarzenegger’s victory was no surprise for the Bruin Republicans, who spent the night celebrating an early victory party.

“(Being a moderate) is one of (Schwarzenegger’s) strengths; he’s a good governor,” said Jimmy Dunn, secretary of the Bruin Republicans.

But others debated whether Schwarzenegger would actually continue the pattern of moderate governance.

“I would bet 52 percent to 48 percent that (Schwarzenegger) would be the compromising guy – the type of guy we’ve seen in the last year,” said Matthew Baum, a UCLA political science professor.

Baum admitted that Schwarzenegger’s stance, which bounces between liberal and conservative, makes it hard to predict which political party the governor will reflect in his coming term.

“That is the $64,000 question: ... Which is the real Arnold?” Baum said. “I’m inclined to think, given he has recently tended to be a relative political moderate,” and now that he is free from reelection pressure, he will continue the trend because “he likes to be popular.”

Schwarzenegger was received less favorably almost a year ago when he proposed a costly special election in 2005, which produced no approval of any ballot items.

During his initial win in 2003, Schwarzenegger had a 50 percent approval rating. It dipped to about 33 percent around the time of the special elections.

Like Baum, Michael Dukakis, 1988 Democratic presidential candidate, said Schwarzenegger has “become a sort of moderate Democrat.”

“Only time will tell,” Dukakis said, referring to Schwarzenegger’s fluctuating position in the political spectrum.

Students also have mixed views regarding the future of Schwarzenegger’s leadership.

“He’s been a moderate from the beginning – that’s one of his strengths,” Dunn said. “Of course, (as with all politicians), there are plenty of things he could do better.”

Meanwhile, the Bruin Democrats were celebrating for a different reason.

“(Schwarzenegger) hasn’t done the best job. But we’ll take the House. (It) looks like we won’t win the governor, but we can’t win them all,” said Alan Ai, a member of the Bruin Democrats and a third-year communication studies and English student.

Though members of the Bruin Democrats were disappointed about the gubernatorial race, they were still optimistic about the nationwide election results.

“(Wining the House) means positive things for this country,” said Gabe Rose, president of the Bruin Democrats.

Near the end of voting hours, Westwood residents and members of the UCLA community hastened to the polls to cast their votes.

But unlike in previous years, students did not have to extensively wait in line.

“(Waiting in line) was not as long as the Hedrick (Hall) lines during my freshman year,” said Marissa Lee, a third-year creative writing student, who said she waited for about 20 minutes.

For Amanjot Mangat, fourth-year sociology student, the process took only 10 minutes, but he felt he could have been more educated on some of the ballot initiatives.

Some Hill residents were prepared because of the pre-voting resources made available to them.

Newton Kwong, a first-year undeclared student, moved to Los Angeles from New York five weeks ago and registered in his dorm last week.

“Everyone was supportive of me, and I was able to get my opinions to count,” Kwong said.

Kwong said his resident assistant held a meeting to inform residents about the nearby polling stations and the resources available on campus for more information.

But not all polling stations experienced a smooth process.

Nick Low, a second-year civil engineering student and polling station volunteer, said that because some student groups who registered students did not turn in registration forms on time, some students who came to the station to vote were not on the list.

With reports from Helen Yim, Abigail Palmer and Jennifer Mishory, Bruin reporters.

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