California Gov. Gavin Newsom broke his silence on the recall campaign against him, establishing a campaign to counter his opponents.
Newsom’s campaign released a statement on Monday, encouraging people to donate to his campaign and stop the recall efforts led by “a partisan, Republican coalition of national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant Trump supporters.”
‘HE THINKS HE’S KING, NOT GOVERNOR’: SUPPORT FOR GAVIN NEWSOM RECALL HIGH IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
“I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it,” Newsom tweeted on Monday. “There is too much at stake. Getting Californians vaccinated, our economy safely reopened, and our kids back in school are simply too important to risk.”
I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it.
There is too much at stake.
Getting Californians vaccinated, our economy safely reopened, and our kids back in school are simply too important to risk.
Join us: https://t.co/Jfpe1IlF4m
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 15, 2021
Newsom has said little in publich about the recall efforts against him, which proponents say are largely driven by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, the recall campaign surpassed more than 2 million signatures, though most still need to be verified by the secretary of state’s office before an October recall election can be triggered. The deadline to submit the petition to recall Newsom is March 17.
The recall effort has been backed by large donors, with much of the big fundraising coming from Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Francisco, where Newsom served as mayor in the early 2000s.
Several Democrats have spoken out about the efforts, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alex Padilla, who previously served as California’s Secretary of State.
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Last month, California Rep. Karen Bass said Democrats would work to defeat the recall campaign against Newsom, alluding that the efforts were being pushed by people who were “COVID deniers.”
California has had one of the strictest lockdown measures in place since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. The state currently has 3.5 million cases and more than 56,000 deaths attributed to the virus.
The Washington Examiner contacted Newsom’s office for further comment but did not immediately receive a response.
