Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, the Republican candidate for attorney general, has promised to defend Proposition 8. His opponent, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris, a Democrat, has said she would not challenge a federal court ruling that found the measure unconstitutional.

UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, speaking at a news conference sponsored by Equality California, a gay rights group, said a decision by the next attorney general to defend the anti-gay marriage measure would "significantly" delay a federal appeals' court decision on the proposition's legality and probably influence the ultimate ruling.