Bustamante downplayed past differences he has had with Davis as a motivation for his move, although one observer noted there is plenty of political intrigue surrounding his entry.

Bustamante's decision to set the election for Oct. 7, the latest possible date after the recall was certified, gave candidates more than two weeks to get into the race rather than one day, a period that allowed political maneuvering to further degrade Davis' political standing.

"When Bustamante did not call the election for the most immediate date and created a 16-day filing period, rather than a one-day filing period, he sealed Gray Davis' fate," said Republican strategist Kevin Spillane. "He created a period of time for Gray Davis to twist in the wind and allow Democratic unity to crumble."

Spillane recalled the time Davis removed some parking spaces from Bustamante's control.

"The parking spaces that Gray Davis took away from Bustamante's office in 1999 are going to go down as the most valuable parking spaces in California political history," Spillane said. "Someone should build a monument by those parking spaces: 'On this spot Gray Davis ultimately lost his political career.' "