Los Angeles ? Californians banished Gov. Gray Davis just 11 months into his second term and overwhelmingly elected action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him Tuesday — a Hollywood ending to one of the most extraordinary political melodramas in the nation’s history.

“I will not fail you, I will not disappoint you, and I will not let you down,” the heralded actor vowed in his victory speech late Tuesday.

Voters traded a career Democratic politician who became one of the state’s most despised chief executives for a moderate Republican megastar who had never before run for office. Davis became the first California governor pried from office and only the second nationwide to be recalled.

“Tonight, the voters did decide it’s time for someone else to serve, and I accept their judgment,” Davis said in conceding. He pledged to work for a smooth transition.

“I’m calling on everyone … to put chaos and division of the recall behind us and do what’s right for this great state of California.”

To the victor goes a spoiled American paradise — a state mired in economic troubles, awash with deficits, now governed by a Republican chief executive with no political experience and a Democratic legislature.

Partial returns showed the recall favored by 1,718,105 voters, or 54.2 percent, and opposed by 1,454,488, or 45.9 percent.

Other returns had Schwarzenegger ahead with 1,535,580 votes; Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante with 973,578; Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock with 405,278; and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo with 74,021.

“This is a great day for California. … In response to a common danger, the people of California rose to their duties and ordered a new direction for our state,” McClintock said in conceding.

Schwarzenegger prevailed despite a flurry of negative publicity in the campaign’s final days, surviving allegations that he had groped women and accusations that as a young man he expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.

The 56-year-old Austrian immigrant — husband of television journalist Maria Shriver — finds himself in charge of the nation’s most populated state with an economy surpassed by only five countries. He takes office as soon as the election results are certified, no later than Nov. 15.

Schwarzenegger promised to return the shine to a Golden State beset by massive budget problems and riven by deep political divisions.

Voters faced two questions — whether to recall Davis, and who among the other candidates should replace him if he was removed. They chose to get rid of the incumbent and put Schwarzenegger in his place.

Exit polling explained why: Many Hispanics and union members — two key groups in Davis’ past electoral successes — deserted him as he suffered extraordinarily low job approval ratings amid widespread voter discontent about the state’s economy.

Davis won election in 1998 with 70 percent support from Hispanics and a similar percentage of voters from union households, and he got about 65 percent of both groups in his re-election last year. But in the recall, about half of Hispanics and of voters with union members in their households voted to recall Davis, according to voter surveys conducted for The Associated Press and other news organizations by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

Seven in 10 voters disapproved of how Davis was handling his job. Nearly half of all voters strongly disapproved, and among them, nine in 10 voted for the recall and seven in 10 voted for Schwarzenegger, the exit poll found.

Long lines were reported at polling places through the day. By late afternoon, Terri Carbaugh, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state, said a turnout of 60 percent appeared likely, higher than the 50.7 percent who voted in last November’s gubernatorial election. It would be the highest percentage to vote in a gubernatorial election since 1982.

Re-elected last year with less than 50 percent of the vote, Davis fell victim to a groundswell of discontent in a state that has struggled with its perilous financial condition.

Schwarzenegger’s improbable rise to political power played out before a rapt international audience. He announced his candidacy in August on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” after aides said it was certain he wouldn’t run.

The campaign included a parade of bit players among the 135 candidates, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, former child actor Gary Coleman and a publicity-hungry porn actress who wanted to tax breast implants.

The cast of characters and outsized ballot gave the campaign a carnival-like atmosphere and provided late-night comics with a stream of material.

But to many Californians, it was serious business.

“I’m horrified at the thought that Schwarzenegger can be our governor,” said Gretchen Purser, 25, of Berkeley, who voted against recall. “I’m sick of Republicans trying to take over the state.”

Ed Troupe, 69, of Thousand Oaks, voted yes for recall and for Schwarzenegger. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said, “Gray Davis is one of the dirtiest politicians I’ve ever encountered.”