Governor Gavin Newsom of California will remain in office after a historic recall election. As voting closed at 8pm on Tuesday, the ballots began being counted shortly after. Republicans’ attempt to unseat Newsom was unsuccessful and Californians voted overwhelmingly to keep the Democrat governor in power, with more than 60 percent of the votes counted.
According to the Associated Press, “The recall needed 1.5 million signatures to make the ballot out of California’s 22 million registered voters. It never would have come before voters if a judge hadn’t given organizers four extra months to gather signatures due to the pandemic. That decision came the same day Newsom attended a maskless dinner at the lavish French Laundry restaurant with lobbyists and friends, stirring outcry.”
Newsom’s top opponent, Larry Elder, is a right-wing supporter of Donald Trump and opposed to Newsom’s public policies surrounding Covid-19. “We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war,” Elder told an audience sprinkled with red “Make America Great Again” hats.
The recall initiative, which has cost the state around $280 million, is one of 55 efforts to recall a sitting governor in state history.
