In what seemed like a foregone conclusion, Senate Democrats used their majority status this afternoon to reject Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s choice to lead the California Air Resources Board.

In a marathon session of the Senate Rules Committee, Democrats used their 3-2 committee majority to send Cindy Tuck packing, although the nomination appears headed for a full Senate vote tomorrow.

Tuck was nominated by the governor in June to chair the ARB, one of the most high-profile air pollution agencies in the nation. She’s well known in Capitol circles, but mainly for her past work representing oil and energy companies. Environmentalists howled when the nomination was announced, saying that they had indicated support for several other candidates being considered… only to have the one candidate they opposed, Cindy Tuck, be chosen from the list.

Tuck tried to both defend her record and allay those fears in her appearance before the committee. But Democrats seemed to be in no mood to back down.

Some Capitol insiders say if Schwarzenegger had made a more “middle-of-the-road” choice to chair the ARB, it could have put Democrats in a tough position PR-wise. But as it was, the decision to dump Tuck was likely a political no-brainer.