Whatever it is, native-born Californians are fast becoming the minority in the state. .
Today 22% of Californians are foreign born, and up to one-quarter of all immigrants to the U.S. have settled in the Southern California region. (Cahn 164). What can you do? Southern California just appeals to all the senses. The smells, the sights, and oh yeah, the benefits available to all. Come one, come all we've got plenty of room, and apparently, an unlimited supply of public available-funds. .
Understanding the volatility of the issue, Arnold had to make sure and address the problem with sensitivity yet remain quite stern and steadfast in his beliefs. It is important as a person seeking this state's top office to take into consideration the legal immigrants feelings as well as the ideas and beliefs of the native born Californian. One would need knowledge and experience to negotiate this tricky highway. As David Horowitz points out in his article, "How Arnold and Pete Wilson will Do It", one of the keys to Arnold's success was that he had Pete Wilson as chairman of his campaign. This was something that may have been overlooked in the early days of the campaign, however Wilson's centrist brand of Republican politics is the only kind of Republican politics that can win at the state level. This is a state, it should never be forgotten that has a million more registered Democrats than it does Republicans. Pete Wilson figured out how to solve this problem. In his last successful gubernatorial run in 1994, he crushed Kathleen Brown, who was considered to be the "scion of California's most powerful modern political dynasty" (Horowitz). The secret of his success was his willingness to seize two political issues that appealed to a winning majority but also fired up the conservative Republican base and put it solidly behind his campaign. These issues were his opposition to illegal immigration (Prop 187) and to racial preferences (Prop 209).