Gavin Newsom’s team already likened the recall effort against the California governor to a “circus.”
Then, one candidate decided to campaign with a live bear.
Businessman John Cox is running to unseat the California governor, and he says he’s “beastly” enough to make a change in the state.
“California is known as the land of the beautiful,” the Republican said during a Tuesday campaign event. “We’ve got beautiful people. We’ve got a beautiful coastline. We’ve got beautiful natural resources. Heck, we even have a beautiful governor. But I think we can all agree that what’s going on in California today is anything but beautiful.”
ENOUGH VERIFIED SIGNATURES SUBMITTED TO QUALIFY FOR RECALL OF CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM
The bear was brought out before the candidate began his speech and remained behind him throughout. Small wires separated the animal from the press, and a handler monitored the situation, throwing the bear treats. The Washington Examiner learned that the bear’s favorite snack is vanilla sandwich cookies sold at Walmart.
The rebranding for Cox is part of a strategy believed to be developed by Fred Davis, the infamous GOP ad-maker who became well known for his campaigns depicting a politician as a demonic sheep and former Sen. Barbara Boxer as a blimp.
“I think Sacramento’s the circus, and the election is a bit of a circus,” Davis told the Washington Examiner. “I think the bear is simply there to highlight the difference between someone of no accomplishments and someone of lots of accomplishments.”
Throughout the event, Cox used the words “pretty boy” in reference to Newsom at least eight times. An ad the campaign released on Tuesday features the bear and a parrot, clucking the words “pretty boy.”
The campaign is spending $5 million to distribute the ad. The Washington Examiner requested to know how much was spent on the bear but did not receive a response from the campaign.
“I’m not a pretty boy, although my wife thinks I’m OK,” he quipped.
IMG_3681.JPG”Let me tell you, this recall is an opportunity to have a dialogue and a discussion about the real solutions we need to make California better for all of us,” Cox added. “It’s a choice between the beauty and the beast. Well, we’ve seen what the beauty has done. I think it’s time to unleash the beast.”
Cox ran against Newsom in 2018 but lost.
“I got millions of votes even though I wasn’t a career politician, and I certainly wasn’t a celebrity,” he said when asked about the failed campaign. “That’s a base to build on, and that’s what I’m gonna do with this.”
Former President Donald Trump has previously voiced his support for Cox.
When asked by the Washington Examiner whether he had been in contact with Trump about his campaign, Cox said “nope,” but when pressed on whether he would welcome Trump’s involvement in the campaign, the candidate sidestepped the issue twice.
“There’s a lot of candidates here, and there’s gonna be a lot of airing of issues,” he said. “I welcome candidates and people talking about how mismanaged this state is. But make no mistake, the pretty boy politician is gonna make it all about the former president and the partisan battles of the past. This is about the California of the here and now.”
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On April 26, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced that the recall effort against Newsom had gathered enough verifiable signatures to likely trigger a recall election. Candidates that have joined the race to oppose him include former Olympic athlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner and Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego.
“We always knew the Republican recall would be a ludicrous circus full of Trump supporters, which only reinforces how much Californians appreciate Gov. Newsom’s competent, compassionate, experienced leadership during an unprecedented series of crises,” Newsom political adviser Dan Newman said in response to Jenner joining the race.
