LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Californians may have to stay up late watching TV on Wednesday night to discover if Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to convert his Hollywood glamour into a political run to replace Gov. Gray Davis.
NBC and representatives of the actor said Thursday that Schwarzenegger plans to make his decision public Wednesday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." That would come three days before the Aug. 9 deadline for candidates to declare plans to run.
NBC didn't say what Schwarzenegger's answer would be, but an adviser to the actor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Schwarzenegger is still leaning against running.
"He has not made a final decision, but nothing has changed about his leaning against," said the adviser. The adviser said it also was possible Schwarzenegger might make a statement before the show and elaborate when he speaks with Leno.
As recently as last week Schwarzenegger's political aides said they expected him to run, but after the recall qualified and Schwarzenegger returned from promoting the third "Terminator" movie, his interest in a candidacy appeared to sour and speculation swirled that he was bowing out.
Even if he opts out, the larger-than-life action hero has amped up a political environment already in upheaval over the unprecedented recall election.
A decision by Schwarzenegger, 56, not to run would open the door for former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who has said he would seriously consider running if Schwarzenegger does not.
The two men are friends and fellow moderate Republicans who are considered more of a threat to Davis than the more conservative Republicans expected to be on the ballot.
"If Schwarzenegger is out of the race then it is up to Richard Riordan to fulfill the role of moderate and viable alternative to Gray Davis. If Riordan chooses not to fulfill that role, then all bets are off in terms of the likelihood of the recall succeeding," said Kevin Spillane, a Republican strategist who advised Riordan during his unsuccessful campaign for the Republican primary last year.
Riordan did not immediately return a message left at his home late Thursday.
A spokesman for Davis' campaign committee, Californians Against the Costly Recall, dismissed the potential candidacy of Schwarzenegger as irrelevant.
"So? This does nothing to change the fact that this is a right-wing effort to pursue a conservative agenda that will cost taxpayers $60 million," said the spokesman, Gabriel Sanchez.
Rep. Darrell Issa, who funded the recall petition drive, is the only declared Republican candidate so far. Bill Simon, the GOP businessman who lost to Davis in November, and state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, are also expected to run. Dozens of other potential candidates are considering getting into the race.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders maintain that they stand united behind Davis. Earlier in the week, three congressional Democrats urged Sen. Dianne Feinstein to run as a Democratic alternative in case Davis loses.
"We are all together in supporting Gray Davis," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe.
Democratic Party leaders also warned Thursday that the Oct. 7 recall election could result in Florida-style problems of disenfranchising poor and minority voters, a contention dismissed by recall supporters.
McAuliffe and California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres told reporters that the consolidation of precincts in some counties could result in some voters not being able to get to polling places.
Their comments came after the California branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said earlier in the day it was preparing a lawsuit over similar issues.
