Candidates describe ways to fix state in GOP debate
Treating homeless, border wall among suggestions
To ease homelessness, former Rep. Doug Ose of Sacramento wants to force unhoused Californians to get treatment for drug addiction and mental illness.
When it comes to coronavirus safety measures in public schools, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said he would ban school mask mandates statewide.
To address drugs and crimes tied to Mexican cartels, businessman John Cox of Rancho Sante Fe said he’d finish the border wall pitched by former President Donald Trump.
And to boost California’s vaccination rates, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley of Rocklin said he does not support incentive programs such as cash lotteries.
These were some of the positions pitched Wednesday when leading Republican challengers in California’s gubernatorial recall election gathered for their first televised debate at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda — 12 days before ballots will start to hit mailboxes.
Voters in the Sept. 14 special election will face two questions: Should Gov. Gavin Newsom be recalled? If more than 50% of voters say yes to that, the ballot’s second question will be key: Who should replace Newsom?
Of the 46 candidates who hope to take Newsom’s job, four Republicans participated in Wednesday’s debate, which was moderated by Hugh Hewitt, president of the Richard Nixon Foundation, along with Christine Devine and Elex Michaelson of Fox-TV and former U.S. National Security Adviser Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien.
While most of the night’s barbs were directed at Newsom, the GOP candidates did take a few digs at each other. Ose explained he calls Faulconer “plastic man” because he argued the former San Diego mayor’s plan to reduce homelessness doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, arguing he’d reduced numbers by changing the way homeless residents were counted and moving them to neighboring communities. Faulconer disputed those claims, insisting he’ll roll his effective San Diego model out at the state level.
Candidates also drew some distinctions from each other on coronavirus issues. While Faulconer volunteered that he and his whole family are vaccinated and encouraged all residents to get shots, Cox said residents shouldn’t care if other people choose not to get vaccinated and that they don’t need vaccines if they’ve had the virus. Health officials urge everyone to get vaccinated because research shows vaccines provide stronger protection than natural antibodies alone.
The Richard Nixon Foundation said it used confidential metrics to decide which of the 46 recall candidates — which includes 24 Republicans, nine Democrats and 13 independents or thirdparty candidates — to invite for its debate.
Several key figures who were invited weren’t on the stage Wednesday night.
Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympian and now a transgender activist, could not participate because she is in Australia filming an episode of “Celebrity Big Brother.” Jenner probably had the highest name recognition of the challengers and drew headlines when she entered the race. But her campaign so far has spent more than it’s raised and polling suggests she’s yet to gain traction with voters.
Newsom also was a nondebater and organizers said he did not respond to their invitation. (His press office did not respond to questions to confirm that.)
Maybe the biggest noshow of all, given the context of the debate and his potential front-runner status, was conservative radio host Larry Elder. The longtime media figure in Southern California was at a fundraiser in Bakersfield.
Elder’s prospects have jumped of late. In July, he scored at the top of two nonpartisan polls on the race, with roughly 18% of voters in one survey supporting his candidacy. Elder has brought up some controversial ideas on the campaign trail, including a pitch to fire 15,000 teachers (an idea he’s since walked back) and suggesting the state’s minimum wage should be $0. (Cox said during Wednesday’s debate that he also supports eliminating a statewide minimum wage.)
In terms of fundraising, Newsom has raised nearly $4 million since the start of the year and is sitting on more than $23 million in cash for the fight to keep him in office and get him reelected in 2022, according to figures reported this week to the Secretary of State. Committees supporting him in the recall have raised more, bringing in some $46 million this cycle.
Cox reported the secondbiggest war chest, with nearly $9 million, though he’s supplying nearly $8 million of that from his own pocket.
After losing to Newsom by about 3 million votes in 2018, Cox’s policy plans have largely been swallowed up by talk about his campaign stunts, such as attending news conferences with a 1,000-pound bear or an 8-foot ball of trash. Before Wednesday’s debate, he said he plans to launch a tour discussing his tax reduction plan with a giant Monopoly-style board called “Gavinopoly.”
When Michaelson asked Cox during the debate about whether those “gimmicks” take away from the seriousness of the matters at hand, Cox argued that his tactics successfully “draw attention” to the serious problems.
Faulconer is the candidate with the second biggest war chest, though his $3.4 million is not self-funded. The moderate Republican opposes Critical Race Theory and efforts to defund the police, while supporting same-sex marriage and abortion rights. When pressed Wednesday night about whether he’d take an endorsement from Trump, Faulconer said he’d take an endorsement from anyone offering one.
Ada Briceño, chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County, said after the debate that the candidates offered “a frightening vision of California” and that electing any of the GOP candidates would “turn back the clock on decades of work.”
But a poll released Wednesday by Survey/USA, and sponsored by the San
Diego Union Tribune offered tough news both for Newsom and for all of the GOP challengers.
The poll shows Newsom losing the recall question 51% to 40%. And unlike some other recent polls that have narrowly favored Newsom, this one is not adjusted to reflect likely voters, who are more likely to lean to the GOP even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in California by more than 20 points.
But the poll — of 1,100 California residents — also shows the likely next governor would not be a Republican. Instead, the poll shows Kevin Paffrath, a Democrat and YouTube personality, taking Newsom’s job with 27% of the vote.
The California Republican Party is scheduled to vote Saturday on possibly endorsing and offering a major boost to one of four candidates who gathered enough signatures to qualify for the party vote: Elder, Kiley, Oso and Faulconer.
More than two dozen local elected officials from Orange County and neighboring communities organized an online news conference Tuesday to voice their support for the recall.
“The local officials are the ones bearing the brunt of the failures of this governor,” O.C. Supervisor Don Wagner said as he raised concerns about crime rates, business closures and homelessness.
None of the local officeholders would say who they’re supporting in the recall.
“The most important aspect of this election is not the other candidates who are running to replace him but that we recall the governor,” Anaheim City Councilman Trevor O’Neil said.
The Nixon Foundation is planning a second debate during the week of Aug. 23 and said it’s invited the same candidates to participate.