Some of the same activists who attempted to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in a 2021 recall are going to try again.
This citizen-led group will serve Newsom’s office with the recall papers on Monday, according to Politico. The latest attempt, spearheaded by Rescue California, points to Newsom’s latest ambitions as governor and his role as campaign surrogate for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. The group says Newsom is too busy focusing on national politics and ignoring a budget shortfall in California.
“Gavin Newsom has abandoned the state to advance his presidential ambitions, leaving behind a $73 billion budget deficit and a public safety, immigration, and education crisis,” Anne Dunsmore, a campaign director for Rescue California, said. Dunsmore said more than 400 Californians have joined as proponents of the latest recall effort.
Dunsmore and other organizers said they are motivated by Newsom’s recent policy decisions as well. Dunsmore cited numerous California policies, including billions spent on the state’s rising homelessness crisis that have seemingly not helped to solve the problem, learning gaps caused by prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and changed laws in the criminal justice system that Dunsmore said contributed to a rise in crime across the state.
Newsom’s office does not seem to be taking the most recent recall lightly.
“We are taking it seriously. These Trump Republicans are targeting Gov. Newsom because he is out there defending democracy and fighting for the reelection of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Newsom spokesman Nathan Click said. “He’s not going to be distracted from that fight. Democracy’s on the ballot, and he’s going to keep fighting.”
Newsom was successful in beating his last recall attempt despite initial worries that the timing, which occurred during a surge in COVID-19 cases in 2021, would create low voter turnout among Democrats in the state. Raising more than $70 million for the campaign, Newsom turned the recall attempt into a campaign to spend millions of dollars on advertising and garnered support from national Democrats to boost turnout.
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Newsom easily defeated the movement to recall him in 2021, winning 61.9% of the vote to keep him in office.
Rescue California said it will target supporters for the new recall via mail rather than place signature gatherers near stores and shopping centers, a common gathering tactic. California recall petitions require signatures equal to 12% of the last turnout in an election for governor. In this case, the new recall attempt would require nearly 1.38 million signatures and likely more to account for signatures deemed invalid by the secretary of state.
