SACRAMENTO (AP) _ A state senator who angered Democratic lawmakers during last year’s lengthy budget impasse is facing a recall vote in the June 3 primary election - even though the major backer of the recall is trying to call it off.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata engineered the drive to unseat Central Valley Republican Jeff Denham. But less than a month before the election, Perata changed his mind.

Perata, a Democrat from Oakland, said the increasingly nasty recall campaign was poisoning budget talks as the state faces a budget deficit for the coming year estimated at $15 billion to $20 billion.

The abrupt change came too late to stop the special election. Ballots already have been mailed, and both sides have bee airing ads.

If a majority of 12th District voters turn against Denham, he will be replaced by the only candidate on the ballot, former Democratic Assemblyman Simon Salinas. That would bring Democrats within a single vote of the two-thirds majority they need to pass a budget in the Senate without Republican support.

Perata has said he believes tax increases will be needed to balance the 2008-09 budget.

“I plan on running a full-blown campaign,” Denham said after Perata said he would not continue an active campaign. “We’re going to continue to address the falsehoods that they’ve launched against me and make sure that we set the record straight.”

Perata predicted that voters would quickly forget the billboards, mailers and radio and television ads against Denham. In part, they accuse him of turning against his district’s interests and accepting a 20 percent pay raise after saying he would reject it.

But Perata also said Denham is vulnerable because of the increasing number of Democrats in the district, which includes all or parts of Madera, Merced, Monterey, San Benito and Stanislaus counties.

Monterey County Democratic Chairman Vinz Koller said volunteers are continuing to walk precincts and make hundreds of telephone calls each day to rally Democrats, some of whom are already voting absentee.

“There is a real resentment to representation we have gotten from Jeff Denham. That hasn’t changed because Senator Perata has pulled the ads,” Koller said.

Koller and Perata say Denham was elected as a moderate but imperiled schools, health care and other programs when he refused to break with his more conservative colleagues during last summer’s budget deadlock. Perata said a budget without tax increases this year would do even more damage.

“I’m proud of my vote. I stood strong to a lot of pressure,” Denham said. “I think that’s what I’m elected to do.”

Denham said in an interview that he will continue to oppose tax increases. But he said he could be open to ending some tax loopholes such as the one that lets Californians avoid paying sales tax on yachts, private planes and recreational vehicles if they keep their new purchase out of state for three months.

He said statewide publicity from the recall effort could help him if he runs for lieutenant governor after he is termed out of the Senate in 2010.

Denham, 40, a Merced almond-grower, was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2006 with 60 percent of the vote and support from teacher and firefighter unions.

Business organizations fear that losing Denham would help Democrats raise taxes, said California Chamber of Commerce Vice President Rob Lapsley.

Salinas defeated Denham once before, when both were running for the state Assembly in 2000. He served until he was termed out in 2006.

Salinas, 52, is one of 12 children born to migrant workers. He earned a law degree and served on the Salinas City Council and Monterey County Board of Supervisors before being elected to the Assembly. The former elementary school and college teacher is again serving as a county supervisor.

“I’m very concerned with the very drastic or draconian cuts they could make,” Salinas said when asked if he would support a tax increase. “My position is everything has got to be on the table.”

Of 119 recall attempts in California since 1913, only eight qualified for a ballot. Five of those succeeded, most recently against Orange County Assemblywoman Doris Allen, a Republican, in 1995 and Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, in 2003.

“It’s not easy to convince voters to fire someone merely for partisan politics,” said Republican analyst Allan Hoffenblum, who publishes the California Target Book, which analyzes legislative and congressional races.

But Democratic consultant Darry Sragow, a Target Book editor, said dissatisfaction with Denham is evident from the 61,000 district residents who signed petitions to put the recall on the ballot.

Denham said he could spend $2 million fighting the recall. By law, he could ask the state to reimburse his campaign for its expenses if it fails, but Denham said he has ruled out seeking reimbursement from taxpayers.