Biden, Harris to stump for Newsom
Although he is mired in a political crisis about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden still plans to campaign for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall election in California, Biden’s press secretary said Wednesday.
The president had previously indicated he would try to help Newsom retain his job. But some political activists had wondered whether Biden would back out of the trip because of the turmoil in Afghanistan.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden still planned to go to California. “I don’t have a date for you at this point in time,” she said, “but that is still certainly his plan.”
Newsom, the Democratic governor of the nation’s most populous state, is fending off an effort to remove him from office that began as a long shot initiated by Republicans dissatisfied with his policies on immigration and the death penalty. But as the coronavirus pandemic wore on and frustration built over prolonged restrictions, the recall gathered steam and, thanks in part to an extended deadline, enough signatures to trigger an election.
Now Newsom and his allies are working to get the attention of the state’s enormous Democratic base, hoping to counteract enthusiasm for his ouster among Republicans.
All of the state’s some 22 million registered voters were set to receive ballots by mail. On those ballots, they will be asked whether they think Newsom should be recalled, and if so by whom. The leading candidate to replace Newsom is Larry Elder, a conservative radio host from Los Angeles who some Democrats have described as an agent of a far-right power grab.
Biden has already voiced support for Newsom. The president said on Twitter that the governor was “leading California through unprecedented crises — he’s a key partner in fighting the pandemic and helping build our economy back better.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to return to the Bay Area this week to stump for the governor of her home state. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has for weeks appeared in television ads warning that “Trump Republicans” are “coming to grab power in California.”