California Gov. Gray Davis has been recalled by his state's voters, according to exit polls.

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Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger led the field of candidates to replace him.

"Tonight the voters decided it is time for someone else to serve," said Davis Tuesday night, a comment to which the crowd responded to with resounding "boos." Davis said he had already called Schwarzenegger to congratulate him.

Davis also thanked Californians for a chance to serve and for a chance to try and make things better in his "own way." The rest of Davis' speech focused on positive steps made during his administration (click here for more).

For his part, Schwarzenegger told supporters that he hoped to overcome the bitterness that had marked the campaign.

"I want to reach out to everybody -- young and old, rich and poor. ... I want to be the governor of the people. I want to represent everybody," said Schwarzenegger (click here for more).

Official certification of the election could take as long as 30 days, but if the exit polls are correct it would mean that Davis is the first California governor to be pried from office and only the second nationwide to be recalled.

Schwarzenegger would not move in as governor until at least 10 days after certification, MSNBC reported.

California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley said turnout for the election could be record-breaking. In some parts of the state, voters stood in long lines to cast their ballots.

Early estimates suggested some 65 percent of California's voters turned out, CNN reported -- considerably more than the 49.6 percent that turned out to elect Davis to office in 2002.

Voters Tuesday tussled with two major issues: Should Davis get the boot; and who among the 135 career politicians, pornographers, fringe candidates and Hollywood stars running to replace him should be given charge of a state that is home to the world's sixth-largest economy?

In addition to the recall question, voters were asked to decide on two key propositions: Proposition 53 would have set aside a percentage of the state's budget for maintaining and building public works such as highways and parks; and Proposition 54 -- known as the racial privacy initiative -- would have barred state and local governments from collecting most racial and ethnic data.

The Associated Press has reported that, based on exit polls, both propositions were defeated.

Schwarzenegger Faces Tough Road

The honeymoon will likely be very short for Schwarzenegger, who, as governor, will be confronted with an overwhelming Democratic majority in the Legislature and a considerable amount of ill will toward him. In addition, he will have a budget due in January.

And there is only so much room for creativity, since voters specified how some money must be spent, and Proposition 13 limits property tax increases.

California faces an $8 billion deficit, persistent unemployment, struggling schools, and, as Davis knows all too well, angry and mobilized voters.

Polls Offered Dim View For Davis

While higher voter turnout traditionally works to a Democrat's favor in California, the news going into the election was less than rosy for Davis. Tracking polls showed a majority of California voters wanted him recalled.

Davis' campaign said internal polls for the past three weeks showed voters split almost down the middle. The Davis polls showed Arnold Schwarzenegger leading the pack to replace Davis, by up to 9 percentage points.

The actor's own campaign said a tracking poll taken over the past two days showed those in favor of a recall easily outpacing those who didn't want one. The same poll had Schwarzenegger getting 37 percent support for taking over as governor.

Recall 'Godfather' Cheers Election

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa voted Tuesday in Vista, Calif., and said no matter the recall election's outcome, "America wins."

The Republican representative bankrolled a flailing recall signature-gathering effort with $1.7 million of his own money. He also ran to replace Davis, but dropped out of the campaign early.

After he voted, Issa was asked about reports Democrats might quickly launch another recall of a new governor. He said that would be "a big mistake for the Democratic Party."

He said to try to recall a governor virtually on the day he is elected would "obviously be unfair and partisan."

The campaign to recall Davis was launched one month after the governor was inaugurated into a second term.

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