It seems to me that the smartest thing the Dems could do would be to get Grayout to resign, and hand the governorship over to Cruz.
There’d still be the recall election, but Bustamante would be running as an incumbent, and would be the obvious pick for Democratic voters. He could even pick up independents with a plea for “continuity.”
Of course, the hard part about this scenario is getting his Grayness to step down. And wouldn’t it be a kick in the pants if he did so, and then the recall failed?