Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his new role as governor of California, was poised to name a transition team to take over the state today, but faced a delay of several weeks before assuming office.
Mr Schwarzenegger scheduled a late afternoon news conference to announce the head of his transition team. He was likely to name an experienced Republican political veteran to the post.
The Schwarzenegger camp was flooded with congratulations today , with President George W. Bush calling the Austrian-born actor to congratulate him on his victory.
White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan said the president told "the governor-elect that he was proud of the race he ran and that he looked forward to working with him."
The vote means that the nation's most populous state, which bills itself as the world's sixth largest economy, will be ruled by a Republican governor heading into a presidential election year - a possible boost for Mr Bush.
Ousted governor Mr Gray Davis, recalled by voters in a vote virtually unprecedented in US political history, ordered Democratic Party loyalists to co-operate with the incoming Republican administration to ensure a smooth hand-over.
But it remained unclear exactly when the Austrian-born bodybuilder turned Hollywood idol would formally take office. First the state election board must certify the election, a process that could take several weeks. Most did not expect Mr Schwarzenegger to take the oath of office in Sacramento until next month.
Mr Schwarzenegger, who never spent a day in political officeand hardly ever voted, easily won the governorship in a recall election yesterday that saw voters boil over in anger at the state of the economy. California faces a massive budget shortfall fueled by the decline of the dot-com economy of the 1990s.
Voters brushed aside allegations in the final days of the campaign that Mr Schwarzenegger had sexually harassed 16 women.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, 54.9 per cent of voters said "yes" to the recall while 45.1 per cent said "no". Mr Schwarzenegger led his nearest rival by 48.2 per cent to 32.1 per cent in the replacement section of the ballot.