LA mayor Villaraigosa won't run for California governor

In a recent Los Angeles Times poll, Villaraigosa received a 55 percent approval rating, relatively low for a sitting mayor who faced little name opposition in his recent re-election victory.

Villaraigosa shrugged off questions about the poll, as well as the recent cover of Los Angeles magazine, which branded him a "failure."

"That's what happens when you're mayor, you're the focus of the good times and the bad," Villaraigosa said, smiling. "In a time when the unemployment rate is at 12.5%, a 55% approval isn't so bad. But I recognize that I've got a lot of work to do . . . and I've got to do a better job, even, than the job that we've done over the last four years."

With Villaraigosa on the sidelines, the Democratic primary is beginning to coalesce around two potential candidates: Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Republicans maneuvering to get in the race include former Rep. Tom Campbell, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman.