California Gov. Gavin Newsom will likely face a recall election after the campaign to recall the Democrat reached the requisite number of signatures to qualify for the question to be placed on the ballot this year.
More than 1,626,000 verified signatures were collected, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber reported on Monday, which is more than 100,000 above what is needed to force a recount.
CAITLYN JENNER DEBUTS WEBSITE AND STORE AFTER ANNOUNCING GOVERNOR BID
The window for signature collection ended in March, and since then, officials have conducted a lengthy signature verification process. Voters will now have the opportunity to submit a written request to their county registrar of voters over the next 30 business days to have their name removed from the petition.
Weber said the recall vote would take place unless a “sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn.”
California’s secretary of state officially announces that recall organizers have exceeded the total number of signatures required to trigger a recall with more than 1.6 million. “A recall election will be held unless a sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn,” Weber says pic.twitter.com/qoqnLgnACM
— Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) April 26, 2021
The Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will then get the opportunity to analyze the cost of the recall election, according to the Sacramento Bee. After that process is complete and the secretary of state certifies the results, an election must be scheduled between 60 to 80 days later.
If Newsom prevails in a recall vote, he will be up for reelection in 2022. Still, though California is a solidly blue state, many on the Right have seen a recall election as their opportunity to win it back.
“Voters signed recall petitions because California is on the wrong track, and we deserve better than the failures of this incompetent governor. Gavin Newsom earned this recall, and we look forward to helping him into early retirement later this fall,” California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said, in part, in a statement reacting to the recall news.
“Californians from all walks of life are seizing this historic opportunity to demand change,” Kevin Faulconer, a former mayor of San Diego who is running for governor as a Republican, tweeted on Monday. “As the only candidate who’s won tough elections and enacted real reform, I am ready to lead this movement. Together, we will turn the page on Gavin Newsom’s failures and begin a California Comeback to reopen our schools, cut taxes for working families, and create jobs for the people of our state.”
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Reality television star and former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner announced on Friday that she is running for governor, making her the most high-profile contender to announce his or her bid for the office thus far.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Newsom’s campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.
