A Republican-driven California recall election ended with a landslide win for Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday.
By around 12 pm PDT, the No vote representing retaining Newsom had garnered 65.3% of the total vote count and having an insurmountable lead against the Republican effort lead by talk show shot Larry Elder.
In his victory speech, Newsom thanked Californians and said while former President Donald Trump was defeated in the last presidential elections, we’re yet to defeat Trumpism.
He said the No vote represented a rejection if the recall but also an affirmation of many other priorities of his administration.
“I want to focus on what we said yes to as a state,” Newsom said. “We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic. We said yes to all those things that we hold dear as Californians and I would argue as Americans. Economic justice, social justice, racial justice, environmental justice are the values where California has made so much progress — all of those things were on the ballot this evening.”
Surprisingly, Elder, his main challenger, conceded defeat much quicker than anticipated despite earlier reported comments where he cast doubt the election would be fair and launched a website for his supporters to report voter fraud, according to the Sacramento Bee.
In his concession speech, Elder urged his supporters to be gracious in defeat.
“We may have lost the battle but we are going to win the war,” Elder said.
He said his campaign has woken up Newsom to problems facing California such as homelessness, clearing forests and anti-Critical Race Theory, all issues considered high priority by conservatives.
Polling, however, shows most voters rejected Elder because of his radical Trumpian views that include his opposition to mask mandates in the effort to fight the pandemic.
The recall cost California more than $250 million and comes just a few months before Newsom stands for re-election next summer.
OUR EARLIER REPORT
By the end of the day, Gov. Gavin Newsom will know his fate.
Will he stay and finish his term? Or be booted and replaced by a Trumpian Right-Wing talk show host Larry Elder?
Californians are flocking polling stations, dropping off ballots or, voting.
There are two questions on the ballot:
Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled [removed] from the office of Governor?
The second question is in the back with a list of candidates angling to replace him.
Second Question:
Candidates to succeed him if he’s recalled: And then a long list spanning three columns follows. The list includes top Republican choice Elder and Caitlyn Jenner, former Olympian and transgender woman.
According to an interview with the Washington Post, Jenner does not expect to win, but she’s looking forward to future political contests.
“That’s one of the things I will continue to fight for in the future: Is the Republican Party being more moderate and more inclusive to people? No matter what happens on this campaign, I will continue that fight,” Jenner told The Early 202, according to Washington Post. “The Republican Party needs to change and to be honest with you, I’m the poster child for change. A little joke there but it’s what they need to do.”
Both Jenner and Elder have had some rough patches campaigning for themselves. In an interview with Fox News Right-Wing host Sean Hannity, Jenner said her friends are fleeing California to avoid the growing number of homeless people in the State.
“My friends are leaving California,” she said. “Actually, my hangar — the guy right across, he was packing up his hangar and I said, ‘Where are you going?’ And he says, ‘I’m moving to Sedona, Arizona. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t walk down the streets and see the homeless.'”
The statement made Jenner a meme punchline, some with headlines screaming “Jenner has hangar pains.”
Elder is another story altogether. The black radio talk show host has not masked his Trumpism. He has promised to end Newsom’s mask mandates, and run California just like Florida Governor Ron Desantis is doing in his state.
In an interview on July 18, with a black conservative darling Candace Owens, Elder argued that white slave owners should have been compensated for losing their property. The comments displayed some obtuse reasoning that you must see to believe. We’re in luck because he made the statement on video. Here is the video:
Newsom has dismissed recall as a waste of money and a Republican ploy to gain the California governorship through the backdoor. But, he may have contributed to its successful launch after he was caught on camera dining with friends at a fancy restaurant, while at the same time telling Californians to stay home.
California, the 5th largest economy in the world, is facing a myriad of challenging issues, including wildfires, Covid-19, and homelessness among others.
We’ll keep you updated on the final results.