A prominent Democrat is fighting for his political career as reports show him beginning to raise money to defend himself after news that organizers have collected enough signatures on a petition to place the recall proposal on the ballot.
Recall Effort
California Governor Gavin Newsom may be ousted before his first term even ends, and the announcement that he is raising money to fight the effort shows he is nervous.
The recall isn’t definite as of yet. According to ABC7, “a series of bureaucratic checkpoints must be cleared before the secretary of state’s office determines that the requirements for scheduling a recall election have been satisfied. The agency is headed by Shirley Weber, a former Democratic legislator Newsom appointed in December.”
Organizers have confirmed that they collected over 2 million signatures since June, exceeding the 1.5 million signatures required to put the proposal before the voters, after a surge in support due to Newsom’s handling of the pandemic. County election officials now have until April 29 to verify the authenticity of the signatures, and give the results to the secretary of state.
Strategists on both sides expect the recall election date to be set for late fall, possibly November.
Newsom is claiming that he’s not worried. “I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall – but I will fight it. There is too much at stake,” he stated.
The governor and his Democrat allies are attempting to portray this effort as the work of Republicans and Trump supporters in an attempt to rally opposition from Democrat and Independent voters. Registered Democrats in California outnumber Republicans almost 2 to 1, which gives Newsom a significant advantage in this challenge.
The Bottom Line
Newsom is already failing in his first term as governor. His handling of the coronavirus pandemic was too authoritarian, even for Democrat voters. The recall effort was already gaining steam even before the pandemic, due to ridiculously high taxes and the rampant homelessness crisis. Tax rates are driving businesses out of California, resulting in job losses. The homeless problem has effected the crime rates in the state, and harmed businesses and the tourism industry. The pandemic just exacerbated these problems. This is the problem with one-party rule, some say. Democrats know that they will win no matter what, so they don’t make any meaningful effort to fix the problems in the state. For once, it seems like a Democrat may actually face repercussions for his poor leadership.
