On this day 21 years ago, famed bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor by the people of California, going on to serve two terms from 2003 to 2011.
The Austrian-born movie star became a U.S. citizen in 1983. Twenty years later, he ran for governor, announcing his campaign on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Running as a Republican, Schwarzenegger thwomped the previous Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, winning by more than 1 million votes.
His campaign was troubled and put on display that inexperience, with several scandals and a hokey campaign based mainly on his movie quotes. But his stardom certainly helped him gain wide reach among voters, and he was undoubtedly helped by the fact that his predecessor, a Democrat, had been recalled by voters (something that hadn’t happened in over 80 years!)
Read more on History.com and the California State Library.
