We’ve been expecting it but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has done it. He officially endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain in the presidential GOP primary.

The governor offered a hint yesterday when he said that two of his friends were seeking the presidency. But New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani dropped out after a dismal showing in Florida on Tuesday despite spending millions of dollars campaigning there.

Schwarzenegger’s endorsement is a big boost for McCain as he rolls into Tsunami Tuesday and primary elections in more than 20 states.

On the other hand, the governor’s nod won’t endear McCain to diehard California conservatives who view both men as too moderate on issues such as immigration and global climate change. The California Republican Party has also barred independents from voting in its primary, which could hurt McCain.

Here’s what Schwarzenegger said in a release sent out a few minutes ago:

“I am endorsing Senator McCain to be the next President of the United States because I am interested in a great future and I think Senator McCain has proven over and over again that he can reach across the aisle to get things done,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “He has also crusaded to end wasteful spending in Washington, which is so important.”

And John McCain is a crusader with a great vision for protecting the environment, while simultaneously protecting the economy. He has incredible credentials on national security and, of course, he is a fantastic public servant. He is a great American hero and an extraordinary leader.”

John McCain thanked Governor Schwarzenegger for his support, stating, “I am honored to have the support of my friend Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. I am very proud that Governor Schwarzenegger has taken the lead in California to protect our environment, an important priority for our nation and the world. I thank him for his leadership. I thank him for being a great American success story. This is a story that is an inspiration not only to young citizens here in California, but all over America and the world. He came to this country without very much, except his strengths, his talents and his ambition.

“And he is now the governor of the largest state in America, and I am proud to be in his company. I know that he serves as a role model and a guide to millions of Americans and people throughout the world. And that is why I am doubly honored by his endorsement of my candidacy and thankful for his help on the road to the presidency of the United States.”

San Ramon entrepreneur Fred Klaske has withdrawn from the crowded Assembly District 15 race, citing poor fund-raising.

Klaske had also run into trouble because he didn’t live in Assembly District 15 until last August, a gerrymandered sprawl of a district that stretches over four counties and through the San Ramon Valley.

His departure leaves four on the Democratic ticket, including San Ramon School Board Trustee Joan Buchanan, former airline pilot Steve Filson of Danville, electrician Steve Thomas of Danville, and school-teacher John Taylor of Sacramento. (UPDATE: Davies Ononiwu of Elk Grove withdrew in December.)

Here’s an excerpt of what Klaske said in his press release issued today:

I am formally withdrawing from the race for the 15th Assembly District of California today …

I am pulling out of this race for one simple reason: I was not able to accomplish the fundraising results needed, in the timeframe needed, to remain competitive as this race moves into the critical round of endorsements by recognized, professional political organizations that the voters in a primary such as this will depend upon. With the help of close to 200 folks, we were able to raise over $20,000 in 11 months. As promised, I put $100,000 from my pocket into that pile of cash, and I had finally located a highly qualified, professional, and very willing fundraising resource with 20+ years of experience and tons of references.

Unfortunately, that outstanding fundraising resource was identified too late to make a difference in the 4th Quarter results that those political organizations will rely upon in determining the financial viability of my campaign — financial results that unfortunately matter more than message.

To put it another way, I simply ran out of time in this election cycle — and if anyone is at fault, or to blame, let it rest on my shoulders alone.

To me, and I suspect to some of you as well, message does matter — and the causes this campaign cares about, especially getting our civilization off of carbon-intensive fuels ASAP, really matter to us and the generations to follow, as I’ve seen and heard loud and clear during these last 11+ months.

I’m proud to have tossed my hat into elective politics — even if “I cared, I tried, and I failed” this time around — and I’m so very proud of the support that so many people showed for helping me move this message forward to the eyes and ears of hundreds of decision makers throughout the state of California, especially Sacramento.

Please know that I’m proud to announce that I’m voting for the next President of these United States in the upcoming primary on February 5th — Barack Obama — as the best possible choice to unify us and move us forward in a positive spirit of hope and change we really can believe in.

As for me, I intend to continue working hard every day to get us “beyond carbon” — and I’ll be working with numerous contacts in the private sector who are likewise passionately pursuing that objective — and I will let my supporters know from time to time new and promising things that are being developed to get us all there.

I’ll also be involved, to the extent that I can, in helping California lead the way to a carbon cap and trade system for emissions, so that we can place a truer cost on those CO2 greenhouse gases and make the economics that much more favorable for the transition toward non-carbon sources of energy.

Elizabeth Froelich of Concord has been elected president of the California Republican Women Federated’s Northern Division.

She represents the “voice and goals” of Republican women in the northern 37 counties, according to a press release.

During her term of office she has taken as her motto: Republican women, working for God, country and family.

Her duties encompass visiting all the Northern Division clubs providing leadership and encouragement for Republican women to join their voices with the elected officials in working for sound fiscal and social policies within the state.

Top California election officials predict election returns will be delayed Tuesday in the wake of Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s decertification of election equipment in some counties.

Those delays could be even worse in June and November, they said, which have far more contests to count.

This is the classic tug-of-war that election officials face on Election Night: Fast results vs. trusted results.

Activists want paper-based ballots and oppose electronic voting machines on the grounds that clever hackers could hijack election outcomes. But many election officials have argued that Bowen went overboard and instituted reforms with little or no proof of voter fraud.

Bowen spokeswoman Kate Folmar said the secretary has every confidence that California county election officials will conduct a professional and accurate election. Changes in election equipment law impacted 21 of the state’s 58 counties.

(As a side note, I laughed at the quote from Contra Costa Registrar of Voters Steve Weir about how numbers won’t be ready until early Wednesday morning. Does that mean I’ve been working for no reason in the past until the wee hours of the morning reporting on election results?)

Here’s what a press release sent a few minutes ago from the California State Association of Counties said:

SACRAMENTO - California’s county election officials are warning that the state’s election results will be delayed, despite bulking up on staff and volunteers needed to carry out the February 5^th Primary Election - a result of actions taken by the Secretary of State last year.

“Counties are well prepared to conduct this election, and report results as soon as they become available,” said CSAC Executive Director Paul McIntosh. “However, because the Secretary of State decertified many counties’ electronic voting systems just six months ago, election officials have been scrambling to change election-day procedures for counting votes. Even with the sizeable number of additional volunteers who work tirelessly in precincts throughout the state, the process will take significantly longer this year.”

In addition, with close to 50 percent of the expected vote to be cast by mail, between 1 and 2 million ballots cast in this election will not be reported in election night totals. And, in any close race, it will take one to two weeks to have most of these ballots included in updated totals, according to elections officials.

“With the changes the Secretary of State has put into place, the fact is that it’s going to take us longer to get votes counted,” said Rich Gordon, CSAC President and a San Mateo County Supervisor. “We realize that California is a pivotal state in this election, and all eyes will be on our numbers, but, the fairness and accuracy of the election remains our primary concern. So, while our reporting may be delayed, we want to ensure that our results are correct.”

There are approximately 25,000 precincts throughout the state’s 58 counties, and about 16 million registered voters in the state. Counties need to recruit an estimated 100,000 poll workers across the state for this election, including more than 24,000 in Los Angeles County alone. The estimated statewide cost for counties to administer the February election is $110 million. Governor Schwarzenegger vowed to pay counties for these costs when he signed the law creating this extra election, although there is no mention of it in his January budget proposal.

“There are very few contests on the February ballot, which will help expedite the counting process,” said Steve Weir, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder and president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. “However, we are still looking at early Wednesday morning before we’ll have our numbers ready. This does not bode well for the upcoming elections in June and November, when the number of contests will be substantially higher.”For more information, please visit the Elections section of the CSAC Web site: www.csac.counties.org/default.asp?id=301.

Antioch Chamber President Devi Lanphere put two local faces into this new, hilarious sendable JibJab movie called “Night of the Living Republicans.” Click here to watch it.

Can you name them?

I’ll update this post later with the names.

UPDATE: Look for the faces of Antioch advertising consultant Allen Payton and Antioch Councilman Arne Simonsen.

The campaign for Barack Obama just announced that Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., will stump in California on Friday for the Democratic senator from Illinois with stops in Los Angeles and Oakland.

More details to follow.

Antioch advertising consultant Allen Payton sends this photo of GOP presidential candidate John McCain taken from the front row of the Republican’s victory speech in Miami on Tuesday night.

“I was two people away from the podium (where McCain stood) and I had the chance to shake his hand, tell him he a did a good job,” Payton said while driving back to West Palm Beach from the victory rally at the Hilton hotel at the Miami airport. “It was a good speech and the place was packed.”

Payton has been in Florida since last week, when he flew out to work the phones. He’s on his way back to Antioch today, where he is he co-chairman of McCain’s Contra Costa County campaign.

“We thought we would win but we also knew it could be very close,” Payton said. “We spent the weekend calling undecided voters and we had some pretty heated discussions.”

Here some other photos that Payton sent over.

The group photo was taken at the reception of McCain’s victory party at a Miami airport hotel. It includes, from the left, Don Marshall of Piedmont, Mona Osborne, Ryan Pierce, Allen Payton of Antioch, Brad Vynalek, Emma Rittgers, Steve Seftenberg and Brad Grantz.

With 20-plus primaries set for Tsunami Tuesday on Feb. 5, the presidential candidates and their surrogates won’t have too much time to linger in California.

But we will see all the candidates touch down in Southern California for CNN-sponsored debates this week. The Republicans debate on Wednesday, while the Democrats will face off on Thursday. Both debates will air live from 5-7 p.m. on CNN.

He’s not on the ballot but President George Bush will be in California on Wednesday, as well, with a planned speech on the economy in Southern California followed by a fund-raising trip to the Bay Area later that day. (He’ll be in Hillsborough raising big bucks for the Republican National Committee.)

Here’s a quick rundown of the balance of the candidates’ Golden State schedules as of this moment and believe me, it can shift on a dime:

– Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will speak at the Commonwealth Club on Thursday. Click here for details.

– Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain will attend fundraisers Thursday in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

– Former GOP Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be in Sacramento Friday although details remain sketchy.

– New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton will host a fund-raiser in San Francisco Friday night at the Orpheum Theatre.

UPDATE:

– Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards will speak at San Jose State University on Friday morning.

Antioch advertising consultant Allen Payton is in Miami where he’s been since Friday campaigning for GOP presidential candidate and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Today is the primary election in Florida, and Payton said this morning that he expects to be on the phone call day calling voters. Payton is the co-chairman of McCain’s campaign in Contra Costa County, and if McCain wins in the 10th Congressional district, Payton will go to St. Paul in September as a McCain delegate to the national Republican convention.

“They’re bringing in food nonstop so we don’t have to leave the office,” Payton said via cell phone.

Payton took the photo on the right in a McCain’s West Palm Beach campaign office. Another East Bay resident, Don Marshall of Piedmont is the second man from the right.

In an email Monday, Payton wrote, “Hey. Just got back from the rally in Tampa. Great event. Gov. Charlie Crist introduced Sen. McCain. Met some local and state elected officials who were in attendance. Walked out with the McCains and former Navy Sec’ty John Lehman to the Straight Talk Express.”

Not missing an opportunity to put in a small dig at McCain’s chief rival, Mitt Romney, here’s what Payton wrote write in an e-mail on Sunday: “Took a quick drive down Ocean Blvd, today to see the Atlantic Ocean and ran into a fundraiser for Romney. Security blocking the street asked me if I was there for Gov. Romney, as I drove by with my coat in the window with a McCain sticker on it. Had to say “No” and drive on. Lots of pretty people getting out of fancy cars in a very high-end neighborhood of estate-type homes with lots of valet parking attendants around.”

Update: Here’s a photo of Payton today at McCain headquarters, where he’s hoping to leave later and head for the victory party in Miami tonight. (Payton is the guy in the blue Hawaiian shirt. Nice of him to dress up for phone-call duty.)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won the Lamorinda Democratic Club straw poll with 79 votes compared to 50 for opponent John Edwards and 36 for Hillary Clinton.

It wasn’t an entirely surprising outcome. The Lamorinda Democratic Club’s members are liberal and many said they would have gone with Edwards if they thought he stood a chance of winning.

The club used an interesting format prior to the straw poll on Friday night. They invited a representative of each campaign to speak as a proxy or surrogate for the candidate. It wasn’t as easy at sounds. It’s one thing to stand up at a press conference and endorse a candidate. But this was an hour-long forum with point audience questions, and surrogates aren’t as intimately familiar as the candidates with the policies.

The idea behind asking the surrogates to speak is that voters respond more favorably to people they know rather than campaign literature or telephone calls. On the other hand, it’s unclear how many folks in the packed room at the Orinda Community Church in Orinda were undecided before they showed up Friday night.

Speaking for Obama was Contra Costa Supervisor Susan Bonilla, who expressed a bit of nerves prior to the event but put on a passionate and well-spoken presentation.

Marie McDonald, a one-time Republican who has helped lead the county party’s fund-raising arm, promoted Edwards while Mary Filson advocated for Clinton. (Mary is married to Steve Filson, a Democratic primary candidate for Assembly District 15 and a former candidate for Congress in the seat now held by Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton.)