The effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom has reached enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office reported on Monday.
Over 1.6 million signatures have been verified according to Weber’s office, 100,000 more than are needed to trigger a special election.
Newsom’s team now has a 30-day window wherein signers are allowed to withdraw their signatures, if they wish. But unless the governor’s team can facilitate a huge withdrawal effort, the recall is likely to result in a vote this fall.
“Game on. They said it couldn’t be done, now they’re saying he can’t be recalled. I say we proved him wrong once, now we’re going to prove him wrong twice.” Anne Dunsmore, campaign manager for Rescue California, one of the groups behind the recall drive, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Several republican challengers have already announced their candidacy against Newsom, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, 2018 gubernatorial candidate John Cox, and former Congressman Doug Ose. Last week, former Olympian and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner announced her intentions to run.
A poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California in late March found that 56% of respondents would vote to keep Gov. Newsom in office, while 40% said they would remove him. The remaining 4% were undecided.
“There’s a long list of reasons to remove him," Recall Gavin 2020 leader and Yolo County Sheriff’s sergeant Orin Heatle told KCBS Radio in December. “Those include the governor abolishing death penalty in California, releasing prisoners early during the pandemic, mishandling gas tax funds and mismanagement of the state’s Employment Development Department, among others.”
Meanwhile, California Speaker of the State Assembly Anthony Rendon called the recall effort “a power grab” during an appearance on KCBS Radio’s the State of California three weeks ago.
"The question that I think needs to be asked is could anyone else have done a better job under especially trying circumstances?" Rendon said.
This is the first California gubernatorial recall election since 2003, when voters recalled Democratic Governor Gray Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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