(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-20 16:46

LOS ANGELES -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Saturday denied that he would shake up presidential politics by endorsing one of the candidates.

Standing alongside Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City -- an independent and a potential contender himself -- at a Los Angeles news conference, Schwarzenegger said he wouldn't endorse any presidential candidate, nor would he get involved in the race.

Bloomberg has repeatedly denied he planned on running for president as an independent, and Schwarzenegger, who can't run for president because he was not born in the United States, has been rumored to be a possible running mate for Bloomberg.

The Republican governor's popularity with voters in California and nationwide might have enabled him to give a boost to anyone he supported.

"It doesn't help me any, it doesn't help the state of California to endorse anybody," Schwarzenegger said. "I will not endorse anybody."

"I respect all the candidates in the Republican lineup," the governor said. "Of course, I have my preferences. But I don't get involved."

With the Republican primary race still wide open, delegate-rich California could play a key role in determining who wins the nomination when the state voters cast ballots on February 5.

On February 5, which is called "Super Tuesday," primary elections will be held in 22 states, whose combined population accounts for half of the United States.

Key players in the Republican primary race include Rudy Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City, Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas,  Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, John McCain, a senator representing Arizona, and Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator.

In the Democratic battlefield, key players are former first lady Hillary Clinton, a senator representing New York, Barack Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, and John Edwards, who is a former senator from North Carolina and was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2004.

Both Democratic and Republican parties will each hold a convention by the end of the summer, formally announcing respective candidates for president and vice president and their policy platforms.

On November 4, all 50 states and the District of Columbia will hold elections to select members of the Electoral College and the winner of the 2008 US presidential race will emerge that night.