SACRAMENTO, California (AP) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom flatly defeated a retreat on Tuesday aimed at ousting him from office soon, a contest the Democrat framed as part of a national battle for his party’s values in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the continuing threats of “Trumpism”.
Newsom achieved a quick victory driven by healthy participation in the overwhelmingly democratic state. He threw it as a victory for his treatment of pandemic and liberal issues, and assures that the nation’s most populous state will remain in democratic control as a laboratory of progressive policies.
“No” is not the only thing that has been expressed tonight, ”Newsom said.“ I want to focus on what we said ‘yes’ as a state: we said yes to science, we said yes in vaccines, we said yes to ending this pandemic. “
With an estimate of two-thirds of the ballots counted, “no” on the question of whether to remember Newsom was ahead by a margin of 30 points. That lead was based on votes cast in the mail and ahead of Tuesday’s face-to-face voting, with a strong display from Democrats. While it is likely to shrink slightly in the coming days as the votes cast at polling stations are counted, Newsom’s advantage could not be surpassed.
Republican talk show host Larry Elder would almost certainly have replaced Newsom if the withdrawal had been successful, a result that would have brought to Sacramento a polar polarity of the world.
The withdrawal triggered Newsom’s approach to the pandemic, including mask and vaccine warrants, and Democrats applauded the outcome as voters approved of his approach. The race was also a test of whether opposition to former President Donald Trump and his right-wing politics remains a motivating force for Democrats and independents, as the party awaits the midterm elections next year. it comes.
Republicans had relied on the test of frustrations for months of pandemic precautions it would alienate voters from Democrats. The Republican Party won four seats in the U.S. House last year, a success Republican leaders had hoped would indicate signs of revived life in a Democratic-controlled state for more than a decade.
But a withdrawal choice is an imperfect barometer, especially of national trends. Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2 to 1 in California, so the results will not translate into governors of the subjugated states or reflect how voters will judge members of Congress next year.
Trump, who had largely remained out of the contest, made unfounded claims that the election was rigged on closing days, the claims echoed Elder’s campaign. Elder did not mention the fraud when he addressed his followers after the results were out.
“Let us be kind in defeat. We may have lost the battle, but we will win the war, ”he said, adding later that the withdrawal has forced Democrats to focus on issues such as homelessness and the high cost of living in California.
Newsom had for months compared the withdrawal to the efforts of Trump and his supporters to overturn the presidential election and a push for Republican-led states to restrict access to the vote.
“Democracy is not football, don’t throw it away. It’s more like an old vase – I don’t know – said Newsom after winning. “You can drop it, break it into a million different pieces, and that’s what we’re able to do if we don’t stand up to meet the moment and step back.”
He became the second governor in U.S. history to defeat a retreat, consolidating him as a prominent figure in national democratic politics and preserving his prospects for a future career. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker survived a retreat in 2012.
Two questions were asked of California voters: Should Newsom be remembered and, if so, who should replace him? Only a handful of the 46 names on the replacement ballot had public recognition, but most failed to gain traction with voters.
Elder entered the race just two months ago and quickly climbed to the top of the group. But this allowed Newsom to turn the campaign into an election between the two men, rather than a referendum on his performance.
Newsom seized on Elder’s opposition to the minimum wage and abortion rights as proof that it was out of the mainstream in California. The governor called him “more extreme than Trump,” while President Joe Biden, who campaigned for Newsom, called it “the closest thing to a Trump clone I’ve ever seen.”
While the contest did not bring the circus element of the California memory of 2003, when voters replaced Democratic Gov. Gray Davis with Republican movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, it had peculiar moments.
Reality TV star and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner entered the race but gained little momentum and left the state by the campaign to film a reality show in Australia. Businessman John Cox, who lost heavily to Newsom in 2018, tried to spice up his campaign by hiring a live bear to accompany him, branding himself as the “beast” of Newsom’s “beauty”.
Newsom will soon be campaigning again; is ready for re-election next year.
Orrin Heatlie, the Republican who launched the withdrawal effort last year, threw it as a “David and Goliath” battle and said he was saying Newsom had asked national Democrats like Biden to “save his damaged career politics”.
The president and other prominent Democrats offered support to Newsom during the closing days of the race, while national Republican leaders maintained competition to a large extent.
The withdrawal required 1.5 million signatures to cast the vote of the 22 million registered voters in California. It would never have reached voters if a judge had not given the organizers four more months to gather signatures due to the pandemic. That decision came on the same day Newsom attended a maskless dinner at the lavish French Laundry restaurant with pressure groups and friends, all shouting.
Supporters of the withdrawal expressed frustration at the months-long closures and business restrictions that kept most children out of classrooms. The rise in homicides, a crisis of homelessness and an unemployment fraud scandal further angered Newsom critics.
But the general public stood by his side. Surveys by the California Institute of Public Policy showed that its approval rating remained above 50% throughout the pandemic. With weeks to go, the institute poll showed that 60% of Californians approved of the treatment of the pandemic by Newsom.
The rise of the highly contagious delta variant led Newsom to frame the race as one of the consequences of “life or death.” He noted Texas and Florida, which saw worsening as their Republican governors rejected mask and vaccine mandates, as precautionary tales of what could become California.
Newsom has been seen as a potential White House candidate since 2004, at least when he challenged federal law to issue marriage licenses to LGBT couples as mayor of San Francisco. His victory maintained those prospects, though he will still have to navigate Harris ’ambitions, which emerged through San Francisco politics alongside Newsom.
He came to the contest with advantages. The California electorate is less Republican, less white, and younger than in 2003, when voters ripped off the Democratic Davis. Newsom was allowed to raise unlimited funds, pushing its competitors as it flooded TV screens with advertising. Trade unions and business and technology executives invested millions in their campaign.
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Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego, Jocelyn Gecker in Lafayette, Don Thompson in Lincoln, Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, and Adam Beam in Sacramento collaborated.
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Check out AP withdrawal coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/california-recall