Democrats are circling the wagons around California Gov. Gavin Newsom, beginning serious preparations for a recall campaign they claim is being instigated by Republicans who take their marching orders from former President Donald Trump.
Newsom is receiving help from near and far as Republican operatives behind the petition drive ready to meet the Wednesday deadline and submit the requisite signatures to trigger a recall election. Vouching for the governor as they acknowledge the recall for the first time are nationally popular liberals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Georgia activist Stacey Abrams, plus senior California Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff and Sen. Alex Padilla.
Democrats are vowing to do whatever it takes to help Newsom beat the recall, casting the effort to remove the governor from office before he stands for reelection in 2022 as an illegitimate Republican power grab being fomented by Trump. “Democrats in California and across the country are united against this partisan Republican recall,” said Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Newsom has formed a new political committee, “Stop the Republican Recall,” and launched an accompanying website to raise money and build grassroots support for a possible fall 2021 recall election. The governor is determined not to get caught flatfooted, as did the last California governor forced into a recall campaign. In 2003, Gray Davis initially ignored efforts to boot him from office, allowing the recall to gain steam and catch voters’ imagination before fighting back.
So far, Newsom is not facing his own version of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the larger-than-life, cross-partisan movie star Republican who entered the 2003 race after that recall qualified for the ballot and ultimately ousted Davis. But the governor is nonetheless concerned. “Am I worried about it? Of course, I’m worried about it,” Newsom told ABC’s The View during an interview. “It’s vexing, so we’re taking it seriously.”
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That’s not idle talk. Democratic strategists say Newsom is playing hardball, presenting fellow Democrats with a choice: Publicly and substantively support my bid to defeat the recall, or be associated with Trump and his right-wing acolytes — including the militant group, Proud Boys, and conspiracy-fanning QAnon followers. The power of incumbency could be another factor fueling aggressive Democratic support for Newsom out of the starting gate.
Davis faced a recall after winning reelection in a lackluster victory, and three years later, he was scheduled to be termed out of office. Newsom’s approval ratings are down. But he won a resounding victory in 2018 and could be around for just under another six years if he survives a recall and wins reelection. That’s a long time in a position of power to satisfy the parochial priorities and grant favors for individual Democrats.
If California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is confirmed as President Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services, Schiff has signaled interest in receiving Newsom’s appointment to succeed him. On Monday, the congressman tweeted his support for the governor, saying he “stepped up and took swift action to protect Californians during the pandemic and get them help quickly. Now Republicans are wasting time and taxpayers $$ trying to recall him. We need to fight back.”
Also voicing support for Newsom Monday was Padilla, whom the governor appointed to the Senate after Kamala Harris resigned to take her place as vice president. “Some of Donald Trump’s biggest donors are funding the Republican recall attempt in California. Today, @GavinNewsom launched his campaign to fight back. Donate to help Stop The Republican Recall.”
Experienced GOP operatives appear to have executed a successful petition drive, a sterling achievement in the midst of a pandemic in a solidly blue state where just 24% of registered voters are Republicans. But the risk to Newsom going forward is unlikely to come from the Right, but rather, the left wing of the Democratic Party, according to Democratic strategist Garry South.
Despite the all-hands-on-deck support for Newsom building among Democrats, South said the liberals could pressure the governor to make promises that are not in his political interest and threaten to withhold their support if he does not deliver. Because of the quirky recall ballot, it is not an insignificant concern. Voters are asked to vote on two questions: Should the governor be recalled? And, if so, who should replace him?
Newsom’s name is not permitted on that list, which, under the law, can feature an infinite number of candidates. If a well-known Democrat files to run in the recall, Newsom could be in deep trouble, especially if the Democratic base grows disenchanted with him. “The real pressure point on Newsom in this recall, as it was with Davis in 2003, is from the progressive Left, not the Right,” South said on the podcast California Nation.
Haley Victory Smith contributed to this report.
