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Sounding a familiar populist theme, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrated with his partisans at a Beverly Hills hotel after the polls closed and said Californians were winners in the statewide election. Schwarzenegger, through a series of TV ads and help from several former governors, orchestrated an 11th-hour defeat of a "three-strikes" bill that would have made it easier for some criminals to get a rehearing and a chance at earlier freedom. Before he got involved, polls showed the measure with a comfortable lead. Early returns seemed to indicate passage as well, but as the night wore on the tide turned in the charismatic governor's favor. [more]