Gavin Newsom pledges to ‘fight’ recall as Democrats launch campaign defending governor
With only a few days left for opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom to turn in signatures for a recall, California Democrats on Monday launched a campaign supporting the governor, calling the attempt to remove him a “Republican power grab.”
The party is kicking in $250,000 to fight against the recall effort — the same amount the Republican National Committee contributed in support of the recall earlier this year.
“The Republican National Committee, wealthy Trump donors and right-wing extremists have joined forces to disrupt California’s road to recovery,” party chair Rusty Hicks said in a statement. “Despite the efforts by the GOP to take us back to some of our darkest days, CADEM is prepared to mobilize our grassroots people power and make it clear to voters that the Democratic Party is the only party focused on protecting the health and safety of all Californians and their families.”
Newsom himself finally addressed the recall on Monday, tweeting, “I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it.”
“There is too much at stake,” Newsom continued. “Getting Californians vaccinated, our economy safely reopened, and our kids back in school are simply too important to risk.”
Newsom, who has been reticent about the recall during press conferences with the California press corps, is set to join hosts of the daytime talk show “The View” on Tuesday to discuss it.
The anti-recall campaign launched Monday also features the testimonies of several big-name progressives, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Georgia Democratic leader Stacey Abrams.
In line with messaging from other California Democrats and Newsom’s State of the State address last week, the party campaign is aiming to paint the recall as an effort led by radical anti-immigrant, anti-vaccine, pro-Trump supporters who could “threaten California’s efforts to fight COVID-19.”
“Gov. Newsom has courageously led California through a global pandemic — putting health, science and equity at the center of the state’s response,” Abrams said in a statement. “Republicans fought him every step of the way. Now, they are trying to overturn his election. Californians must stop the Republican recall.”
Other top California Democrats, like Sen. Alex Padilla, Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Ro Khanna, also slammed the recall effort.
“The same Republicans who refused to hold Donald Trump accountable for the deadly insurrection of January 6th are now trying to hold Governor Newsom accountable for the failures of Donald Trump,” Padilla said in a statement. “The recall effort is partisan, reckless, dangerous, and will only serve to distract from the critical work of seeing our state through the pandemic and into economic recovery.”
“This will be one of the most important races for Democrats this year.,” Khanna said. “Having served California and the Democratic Party for decades with a commitment to Democratic values, Gavin Newsom is facing a pro-Trump, Republican recall. They are using a backdoor to sneak through their agenda. Democrats and Progressives must be united to stop it.”
Californians are unlikely to know whether there will be a recall election until the end of April, when county election officials have a deadline to certify signatures. Even then, there are a series of steps and procedures the state must take to authorize an election, with several chances for Democrats to delay it.
If there is an election, it’s unclear whether voters are prepared to boot Newsom from office. A poll from Emerson College released Monday showed the governor’s approval rating falling to 42%, with 40% disapproving and 18% unsure.
When asked about the effort to recall Newsom, 42% said they would vote to keep him, 38% said they would vote to recall, and 14% were undecided. A small portion, 6%, said they would not vote in a recall.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 12:04 PM.