California’s disgruntled Governor Gavin Newsom faces some stiff competition for the upcoming recall election on September 14 in his state. Counties will send ballots to every registered voter in mid-August, giving the Democrat governor a month to boost turnout to oppose his recall.
Draconian mandates and shutdowns led to the kicking off of gathering signatures for his recall, and now it’s set in motion.
Registered Democrats far outnumber Newsom, and he has raised nearly $47 million in his war chest for re-election.
“Democrats have not had urgency, and that’s Newsom’s greatest challenge at this point,” said Democratic consultant Michael Soneff. “His ability to convince Democrats to return their ballot over the course of a month is going to make all the difference in whether or not he wins against the recall.
New polls show that more voters oppose Newsom’s recall than support it, but there is a massive enthusiasm gap between Republican and Democratic voters.
A poll conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Los Angeles Times in late July, shows that 36% of the state’s registered voters would vote to recall Newsom, while 51% would vote to keep him in office.
However when you look at actual registered voters, things change drastically. 47$ favored Newsom’s recall, while 50% were against it.
“If everybody voted, then Newsom would actually be in a safe place right now. But that’s not the way elections in this country work. I think the governor and his team understand that even his supporters aren’t all that excited about him right now,” said Dan Schnur, a politics professor at three California universities who previously led the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
“Over the next few weeks, you’ll see him spending less time trying to persuade recall supporters to change their mind, and much more of his time and energy simply trying to motivate his own base to bother to show up,” Schnur said.
Newsom even has ads featuring Elizabeth Warren backing him.
“They’re coming to grab power in California, abusing the recall process and costing taxpayers millions,” Warren said.
There are 46 confirmed candidates running, 24 of them are Republican. The front runner right now appears to be popular conservative radio host and attorney Larry Elder. The GOP says they aren’t going to endorse a candidate because they don’t want to hurt feelings. A weak showing which is why the GOP keeps losing elections.
Also running are businessman John Cox, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and former Rep. Doug Ose all took part in the debate, calling for greater personal autonomy in the pandemic and less “government overreach.”
This recall election is going to be interesting, but could Newsom end up winning with 25% of the vote? Yes, he sure could because there are so many candidates running.
What are your thoughts America? Thanks to our friends at CNBC for helping to contribute to this article.
