California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday defeated a pandemic-driven recall effort after spending weeks warning that the nation’s largest state was at risk of falling into Republican hands.
OAKLAND — Gov. Gavin Newsom will remain California’s governor after voters decisively rejected an effort to recall him in Tuesday's election.
The governor will now enter the final year of his first term in a position of strength. He is expected to stand for reelection in 2022, and Republicans’ failure to oust him in an off-year special election fueled by conservative grievances suggests they face a steep fight to defeat Newsom next year.“He’s going to be vindicated and it will discourage most credible candidates from running in 2022,” Democratic consultant Rose Kapolczynski said.
The leading Republican had not appeared yet at his election night party at an Orange County hotel. Supporters there chanted, "We don't believe those votes, do we?" The prospect of recalling Newsom once appeared to be a political fantasy. But the coronavirus pandemic reordered California’s political landscape. Conservative foes of the governor harnessed pervasive frustration with Newsom shutting down the state last winter and benefited from an extra four months to collect signatures.
That upward trajectory led Newsom to convince the Legislature to move up the election date to mid-September, believing the electorate would be in high spirits. The Delta variant threw a wrench in that plan, driving up virus rates to the point that counties reimposed mask requirements and Newsom mandated vaccinations or negative tests for state employees, teachers and health care workers.
Unfounded claims of voter fraud may also have damaged Republicans’ chances of unseating Newsom. In the weeks running up to the vote, former President Donald Trump baselessly called the election “rigged,” Elder directed voters to a website preemptively claiming fraud had handed Newsom victory and conservative pundit Tomi Lahren assured Fox viewers that only fraud could save Newsom.
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