Republican gubernatorial recall replacement candidate Larry Elder didn’t announce his candidacy for next year's election in the aftermath of projections that California Gov. Gavin Newsom would remain in office on Tuesday night, nor did he repeat the baseless claim that his loss was a result of voter fraud.
Elder, a conservative talk radio host who entered the race in July, led all replacement candidates with over 2.1 million votes as of 11:27 p.m. on Tuesday. While that represented over 45% of the replacement vote at the time, nearly 46% of the 8.7 million ballots counted by that point didn’t select a replacement candidate.
Meanwhile, 65.3% of the ballots counted voted no on recalling Newsom as of press time. Newsom will now serve through the end of his term in 2023 and can run for re-election next November.
Elder repeatedly told supporters on Tuesday night that "we may have lost the battle, but we're going to win the war."
"As a former radio host, let me just say this: Stay tuned," Elder said in a speech at his campaign’s election night watch party in Costa Mesa on Tuesday night.
Elder’s supporters booed the first mention of Newsom's name, and he told them to be "gracious in defeat." The 69-year-old didn't allege widespread election fraud, as a website paid for by his campaign had on Monday in publishing a webpage with the baseless claim that "statistical analyses used to detect fraud" in third-world countries had found voter fraud in California.
Elder had not committed to accepting the results of Tuesday's election. The webpage was removed before the polls opened on Tuesday.
After telling supporters not to boo Newsom, Elder hit out at Newsom's record, claiming the governor was responsible for increasing crime and wildfires as well as lagging standards in California public schools. Elder also blasted prominent national Democrats, like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who ripped recall efforts in television advertisements and campaign appearances.
Elder, who is Black, dedicated a significant amount of speaking time to criticizing former President Barack Obama, claiming there were double standards in how his campaign was covered compared to the former president’s and those of other Black Democrats. Elder cited Obama's election as the first Black president in 2008 as a rebuttal to claims of systemic racism in the U.S.
"He made things worse," Elder said of Obama, who left office after his second term ended in 2017. "I'm a uniter. We are united. We are gonna bring this country together because we know what the real problems are, and they have (nothing to do) with racism."
Elder said interventions from Obama, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the campaign’s final days showed that he and his supporters “scared the bejesus” out of Democrats and “the left-wing media” he claimed to run against. His campaign, he argued, will force the state to address his stump issues, including homelessness, forest management, energy and public schools.
At the end of the night, Elder said his run in the recall election won't be his last foray into state politics.
"This is just the beginning," Elder said after thanking his campaign staff.
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