NEWSOM WINS
Calif. gov easily survives recall
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom survived a recall effort Tuesday night — avoiding the threat of becoming the second Golden State chief executive in less than 20 years to be removed from office by voters before the completion of his term.
With 61 percent of the expected vote in Tuesday night, the “no” response to the ballot question of whether Newsom should be recalled had 66.8 percent of the vote while the “yes” response had 33.2 percent.
The final margin was expected to be closer as more votes were counted, but not nearly close enough to trouble the incumbent.
In brief remarks Tuesday night, Newsom said Californians, in voting “no” on the recall, had “said yes to science.”
“We said yes to vaccines, we said yes to ending this pandemic,” Newsom said.
“We said yes to people’s right to vote without fear of fake fraud or voter suppression. We said yes to women’s fundamental constitutional right to decide for herself what she does with her body . . . We said yes to diversity, we said yes to inclusion, we said yes to pluralism. We said yes to all those things that we hold dear as Californians and, I would argue, as Americans.”
Had Newsom been recalled, Republican candidate and longtime radiotalk host Larry Elder would have been in line to become governor. Elder, the self-described “Sage of South Central” who was attacked by an egg thrower last week while he toured a Venice homeless encampment, received 43.6 percent of the vote of those who chose a potential replacement for Newsom.
The next closest competitor, Democrat Kevin Paffrath, received just 10.7 percent, followed by former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer with 9.5 percent. No other potential Newsom replacement received more than 5 percent support.
Support for Newsom remaining in office had grown in the weeks before polling day as national Democrats ramped up their efforts to ensure that the governor would not be cast out prematurely, as Gray Davis was when he was replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003.