The Associated Press called the race for Schwarzenegger mere minutes after the polls closed….but it wasn’t until a few hours later that Angelides made what the Governor described as a gracious phone call conceding the race.  Schwarzenegger then addressed a crowd of supporters in Beverly Hills:

“Tonight I believe that the people have given us a mandate – not a mandate for me, not a mandate for a specific party, but a mandate to move the state ahead, a mandate for leadership, a mandate to build a better and brighter future for California.”

Shortly after Schwarzenegger’s victory speech, Angelides addressed the Sacramento crowd that rallied around the self-professed underdog:

“This campaign comes to an end, but the struggle for fairness and opportunity, the struggle to give a hand up to the people who make this state great, that struggle goes one each and every day.”

Angelides added the experience has been the most energizing of his life.