Larry Elder talks politics on the radio. Can he get votes in the California recall election?

Larry Elder is normally not a fan of recall elections.

As a nationally syndicated talk radio host and longtime columnist, Elder says he believes elected officials should be able to finish their term before voters get to decide whether or not to keep them.

But in the case of California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, he said, it’s an emergency.

“I consider this to be an intervention,” he said. “I consider this to be a mission of mercy. This is damage control.”

Elder this week became one of dozens of Republicans looking to replace Newsom in the upcoming recall election. Already on the ballot are candidates with more experience governing — like former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and former Rep. Doug Ose — and a bigger celebrity following, like Caitlyn Jenner.

Elder, 69 and a native of Los Angeles, is no stranger to celebrity himself. For nearly 30 years he’s shared his thoughts on politics and culture through his radio show, newspaper column, TV appearances, books, and movies. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While he spoke with The Sacramento Bee in front of the Capitol on Thursday, several people stopped to shake hands, take a picture, and voice their support..

For decades, his following has been mostly conservatives and libertarians. But now, with a shot at the California governor’s office, Elder is hoping independents and Democrats will listen to what he has to say.

“The things I’m saying are common sensical, but a lot of people haven’t heard them because the left wing media will not publish things I’m saying. They won’t review any of my books, won’t review my movie,” he said. “And when I talk to normal people and explain these things... they always go, ‘that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling.’”

Rising crime

Day one of an Elder governorship would include addressing the rising crime rates in California, he said. California homicides increased 31% in 2020, the same year hundreds of thousands of new guns were purchased at record levels in the Golden State, according to annual data released recently by the Department of Justice.

Elder contends the rising violence is the result of a decrease in policing that has occurred in light of recent protests against policy brutality.

“It starts with not bad-mouthing the cops trying to do their freaking jobs,” Elder said. “Much of police work is discretionary. If you’re driving around and you see something that’s suspicious, why should you get out of the car and wade into this if people are going to take their cell phones and accuse you of systemic racism?”

The result of more cautionary policing is leading to more crime against Black and brown people, Elder said.

“The people who are victimized are the very people the left wing claims that they care about,” he added. “It’s just BS, and I’m going to do something about it.”

Housing affordability

Elder’s father moved to California in 1945 after the war. He worked as a janitor, scrubbing toilets, and was able to save enough for the down payment on a home in Southern California.

Today, Elder says that same home is worth $600,000, far out of the reach of a working class family like his.

“What my dad did is impossible for somebody with a college education,” he said. “Let alone an eighth grade dropout the way he was. The California dream is increasingly fading for middle-class people and working class people.”

It’s the reason Californians are fleeing to other states, he said. The state’s population more slowly than the rest of the U.S. over the past ten years, resulting in the loss of a congressional seat.

“A lot of people leave California, they’ve had it, but they can’t figure out the connection. They’re not stupid. They’re just working to try to put food on the table and and get the (down payment) to buy a house. They don’t have time to connect all these dots,” Elder said. “I can connect the dots in ways I think that the average California can understand.”

Left-wing policies around environmental regulations make it harder to build and drive up taxes, Elder said, leading to a serious homeless problem that burdens taxpayers.

“It’s not fair to taxpayers, it’s not fair to (the homeless). Some percentage of them are schizophrenic, by that I mean a danger to themselves or to others... they need to be physically removed, and housed somewhere for their own good. The rest of them are probably alcoholics, or drug addicts, and they need to be treated,” he said.

Does he have a chance?

Elder enters the race much later than his competitors, who, in some cases, have campaigned around the state for months. If elected, he would be the state’s first Black governor.

He isn’t interesting in drawing comparisons between himself and other candidates, aside from the fact that he believes he can do a better job connecting with voters than anyone else.

The goal, he says, is to get Newsom out of office.

“I subscribe to Ronald Reagan’s view, something he called the 11th commandment, ‘Thou shalt not speak negatively about a fellow Republican.’ That’s how I feel about all these guys. I have respect for them,” he said. “Some of them are policy wonks. And when I become governor, I’ll add them to my staff.”

Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Nigel, has endorsed Elder. Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, thinks he has a good chance at consolidating the voters needed to win.

Part of what made the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis successful was voters uniting behind Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. With less than 60 days left until Newsom’s recall election day, no clear front-runner has appeared among replacement candidates.

Newsom also is more popular than Davis was at the outset of the 2003 recall. Recent polling shows an approval rating of more than 50% for Newsom. He recently signed a budget that included billions more for California schools and $600 checks for Californians making less than $75,000. Allies have praised the governor for guiding California through one of the most tumultuous times in its history.

And unless more than 50% of voters choose to recall Newsom, it doesn’t matter which candidate gets the most votes on question two.

Elder contends he has the gravitas and ideas that will draw in voters across the political spectrum – despite his lack of elected experience.

“Gavin Newsom has qualifications up the yin-yang. He was the mayor of San Francisco. Eight years he was lieutenant governor, two years, governor, and look what’s happened,” Elder said, citing rising crime, homelessness and housing costs. “Experience without common sense is useless.”

This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.