Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego, says he’s running for governor of California.
The Republican released a video announcement on his campaign website on Monday, asking, “What happened to the promise of California?”
Should Gov. Gavin Newsom face a recall vote, Faulconer will participate in that race. If petitioners against the governor do not get enough signatures to have their proposal brought to a vote, Faulconer will run in 2022. Newsom has not said whether he will seek reelection in 2022.
Faulconer told the Washington Examiner in November that he was “strongly considering” a run for governor. “The Democratic establishment have failed our state,” he said at the time. “I think it’s time for competition. It’s time for competition of ideas.”
Faulconer isn’t against abortion or gay marriage. He’s fiscally focused, and in 2021, that means paying particular attention to the lockdowns Newsom has instituted in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“People are hurting, and to recognize the impact that these policies are having on small businesses, it’s not just an afterthought,” Faulconer said. “This is literally economic life and death. When the goal posts keep changing, when we’re so many months into this, and literally in San Diego, there have been some businesses that have had to open and shut five different times. That’s just crazy.”
In his announcement video, Faulconer addressed other issues, including the state’s homelessness and energy crises and the need to update its infrastructure.
“We can right these wrongs by writing a better future for California,” he said. “That’s not a promise. That’s our promise.”
Faulconer will hold a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to multiple news outlets.
Organizers need 1.5 million signatures by March 17 to trigger a recall vote. Organizers say they already have 1.3 million, but they may need even more than 1.5 million in order to survive the signature verification process.
