More than two dozen people have filed papers to run for Governor of California in the recall election, but so far no prominent Democrat has taken that step.
However, there are a few Democratic political novices running, just in case Gov. Gavin Newsom is removed by the recall.
The latest to join the fray is a 29-year-old YouTube star from Ventura named Kevin Paffrath. He is a real estate broker and landlord who makes millions of dollars a year from his YouTube videos under the handle "Meet Kevin."
"I want to run for governor because I am fed up with the problems we have. Housing, homelessness, schooling and our taxes are too high," Paffrath told KCBS Radio’s "The State of California" on Tuesday.
"Gavin Newsom is the problem. We have to vote ‘yes’ on the recall. It’s not the Democrats, it’s not Republicans, it’s Gavin Newsom," Paffrath said, "We’ve had enough of 17 years of Gavin Newsom. Gavin Newsom likes to fill the top of the political funnel up with pet projects and money. He wants to take five years to solve homelessness, that’s not how we solve it. He’s throwing $183,000 at every single homeless person to solve it over five years, it’s not going to work. He’s been trying it for 17 years. Newsom’s the problem."
Most of the people who have both joined the recall race against Newsom and are expected to vote to recall the governor are Republicans.
In order to win, Paffrath, a registered Democrat, must convince those on the other end of the political spectrum to vote for him and not for candidates within their party.
"I’m running as a Californian, to fix the real problems that we have in California," Paffrath said. "The other Republicans don’t have a chance. They don’t have a chance because they don’t have a plan. They know that I’m not running because I’m a celebrity, I’m not running because I’ve run before, I’m running because I actually have a plan and a solution to solve California. We need a new leader in California who’s willing to work with both Republicans and Democrats. When folks take a look at my plan, they realize, ‘Wow, I don’t even care if this person is a Republican or Democrat. He’s got the solutions to solve California.’"
While some believe his candidacy is merely a political stunt in order to gain popularity and boost his following, Paffrath said that the opposite has proven true as he’s actually lost followers since he announced his intentions to run.
How does someone with no political experience and both a real estate and YouTube background convince voters that he’s qualified to be governor of the state?
"I have experience where it matters. Not only in community service but also three years working with law enforcement directly in community service, serving even homeless populations," Paffrath said. "I’ve been a real estate investor for 11 years. I know exactly why we have a housing shortage, I know exactly how to fix it, along with my economics and political science education at UCLA, I know I can solve the issues that we have in our state."
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