It was an interesting night.

Around 11:30 p.m., supporters of Phil Angelides filed out of the Sheraton Grand ballroom in downtown Sacramento, hopeful but not assured based on very close returns. Within a half hour, Angelides staffers were scurrying back into the room, hustling the crowd back in, and exchanging high fives. It appeared the all nighter was coming to an end sooner than expected. Current returns show Angelides with what looks to be a 4 point victory over Steve Westly.

There will be plenty of time for the post-game analysis... including items like Angelides' strong showing in the traditional coastal Democratic counties versus Westly winning the more moderate/conservative Central Valley counties... the apparent fizzle of the Westly campaign, which was 13 points ahead in a statewide poll just over a month ago... and whether Angelides can successfully link Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with (who the polls say) is the most unpopular politician with Californians: President George W. Bush.

Here's how Angelides framed the issue in his comments early Wednesday morning:

"This is a clear choice election, between the agenda of George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger, where you help those who have the most and hope the crumbs will fall to the rest, and an agenda of hope and opportunity, where we work for the common good, where we balance our budget, where we invest in our people, where we roll back massive tax breaks for multi-millionaires and corporations, so we can have the best schools, send more of our young people to college, and expand health care."

The day begins early... stay tuned for reports from the Schwarzenegger bus tour of the northern region, which departs Sac-Town at 6:30 a.m.