California's Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to win reelection on Tuesday, largely due to his star power as a former Hollywood action hero and a pledge of bipartisan policies in the Democrat-dominated state.

As the 2006 mid-term elections are held across the United States to decide on a new power structure for the congress, voters in California are picking the people who will run the state for the next four years and deciding on various propositions, ranging from energy policy to cigarette tax.

Meanwhile, Californians will also be electing a U.S. senator and 53 members for the House of Representatives, in a year in which Democrats are hoping to gain control of at least the House and possibly the whole Congress, from the Republicans.

The state could be in the surprising position of electing Republicans to a majority of top state spots, despite polls that show a strong national Democratic sentiment fed by anger at the Iraq war, political observers here said.

In the state's gubernatorial election, Schwarzenegger is determined to cap a resurgent year by winning his reelection, while his Democrat challenger Phil Angelides is trying to pull off a Hollywood-like upset despite trailing in the polls.

After suffering a major defeat in last year's special election, where all of his ballot measures were rejected by voters, Schwarzenegger quickly took a conciliatory tone with Democrats and pledged a bipartisanship policy.

By the time the re-election campaign began, Schwarzenegger had already begun regaining his political clout, aided in no small measure by his international movie-star status that continues to make him one of the most recognizable faces and names in the world.

Angelides, the state's incumbent treasurer, will be facing an uphill climb on Tuesday night when election results are announced. He has been trailing behind Schwarzenegger in the polls and in fund-raising, and he is fighting a battle against history. No California governor has been denied a second term since 1942.

Source: Xinhua