California elections officials have released the official list of 41 candidates who met the qualifications to run in the California gubernatorial recall election.
The election to attempt to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom is set for Sept. 14. The field of candidates include former Republican Mayor of San Diego Kevin Faulconer, Caitlyn Jenner and John Cox.
Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant, told KNX he expects Newsom to win.
“There’s not been a single public poll showing that Gov. Newsom is in danger of losing this recall,” Madrid said. “Some of the highest-profile candidates aren’t taking this campaign seriously.”
Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist, was reportedly in Australia last week to take part in filming the reality TV show, “Celebrity Big Brother.”
Republican recall backer Tom Del Beccaro, who heads the group Rescue California, said there are plenty of choices for GOP voters to consider.
“What I see [is] that we have a host of remarkable candidates who are articulate and will be pointing out what’s wrong with Gavin’s policies and what differences they want to make,” Del Beccaro told KNX.
Madrid said that having 21 Republicans on the ballot doesn’t mean Newsom will be ousted.
“In terms of addressing the actual policy problems facing California, Mayor Faulconer is doing the best job,” Madrid said.
“Having said that, it does not appear that people are in the mood for substantive public policy discussions at this moment. Most people haven’t heard of Kevin Faulconer and don’t know who he is.”
The list of candidates is expected to undergo some revision by the final deadline of Wednesday as a number of candidates have submitted incomplete paperwork and could be re-instated.
Among those left off the list for now include conservative talk show host Larry Elder, who officials say has not met the requirement of filing complete tax returns for the last 5 years.
Newsom’s campaign made its own gaffe when his party affiliation, Democrat, was mistakenly left off recall paperwork. His party affiliation will not be listed on the ballot.