Gavin Newsom recall effort will now begin gathering signatures following petition approval



The latest recall effort against California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will begin gathering signatures. On Tuesday, the California Secretary of State's Elections Division approved the campaign's petition for circulation, KGTV reported.

A recent memo to Rescue California read, "Today, March 26, 2024, the Secretary of State's office approved petitions for circulation for the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom."

The citizen-led group, which launched in February, has until September 3, 2024, to collect a minimum of 1,311,963 valid signatures. The number of signatures required to get a recall vote on the ballot is equal to 12% of the votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election.

"Valid signatures must be obtained from at least five counties and in each of those counties must equal at least 1% of the last vote for Governor," the memo explained.

Rescue California argues that Newsom "has abandoned the state to advance his Presidential ambitions." The group slammed the governor for "leaving behind a $68 Billion budget deficit and a public safety, immigration and education crisis."

Newsom "granted 700,000 illegal immigrants free health care at a cost to taxpayers of $3 billion annually, while cutting vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled and the homeless," Rescue California's website stated.

The governor also "kept schools closed during Covid longer than other states allowing California students to fall further behind in basic skills such as language and mathematics," the group claimed.

The latest recall effort marks at least the fifth attempt to remove the governor from office, The Hill previously reported.

Rescue California led a recall to oust Newsom in 2021. While the group successfully gathered enough signatures to make it on the ballot, the governor ultimately won the election by 23 points.

Anne Hyde Dunsmore with Rescue California stated in February, "He's exhibited [an ability] ... to take care of problems very quickly when he feels like it. He cleaned up a city in three days, he fixed a freeway in less than two weeks," KEYE reported.

Rescue California blamed Newsom for the state's homelessness crisis.

"In the last two years, the homeless population has exploded, crime rates have increased, learning loss for students is off the charts, and a multi-billion dollar surplus is now a $70 billion deficit. The blame is on the Governor's shoulders while he is campaigning nationally," the group stated in a post on Facebook.

Residents also recently launched a separate recall effort against George Soros-backed, leftist Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. The group submitted 123,000 signatures for validation earlier this month, but only 73,000 must be validated to get a recall vote on the ballot.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom committed an embarrassing error on his election paperwork, so he's suing his own elections chief



California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) made an embarrassing error in his paperwork for the upcoming recall election and he's having to sue the elections chief he installed in order to fix the mistake.

If Newsom's lawsuit is unsuccessful, he won't be designated as a Democrat on the ballot.

The recall effort against Newsom gained momentum due to parent frustration with California's slow reopening of in-person education, and due to an incident when Newsom was caught flouting social distancing guidelines by attending a maskless dinner party at an expensive restaurant in November. Newsom later apologized for the dinner party but the recall effort was able to garner enough petition signatures to force a special election.

On Monday the governor filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Shirley Weber in Sacramento Superior Court for the right to have "Democratic party" next to his name on the recall election ballot.

Newsom had nominated Weber to the office in December after naming her predecessor to the U.S. Senate.

Not only did Newsom fail to meet the deadline to declare his political party designation, but the bill that implemented that deadline was one that Newsom himself signed into law in 2019, and one that was unanimously supported by Democrats.

The lawsuit from the governor argues that it was unfair to ask him to declare his party designation at a time when it was unclear if the recall campaign was going to be successful and qualify for the ballot.

Republicans in California Assembly mocked the governor on Twitter over the mistake.

"Gavin Newsom has failed at basically everything since being governor; he can't even fill out his campaign paperwork properly," their account wrote.

Democrats in California were accused of additional election chicanery when they moved to change the date of the recall election and have it sooner than it was scheduled for under the current state law. Democrats said they want it done quickly to move on to other business, but Republicans accused them of trying to shorten the time Newsom's competitors have to campaign against him.

Here's more about the recall effort against Newsom:

California recall election could be moved up as early as Septemberwww.youtube.com

California Democrats pass law to change recall rules and help Gov. Newsom fend off challengers



California Democrats are literally changing the rules to help Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) fend off a recall effort, which was officially certified only days ago.

State officials confirmed last week the recall against Newsom would proceed after recall organizers collected 1.7 million signatures to trigger the recall election.

What are the details?

California Democrats, who control the state legislature, passed a bill Monday that would move up the recall date. The bill was then sent to Newsom's desk, who quickly signed the bill into law, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The law amends existing recall rules to allow the election to happen at least 30 days earlier than under existing state law. By moving up the recall date, Newsom's challengers will have less time to campaign against him, giving Newsom a clear upper hand — not that he needed one in Democrat-haven California.

More from the Associated Press:

Democrats' proposal would essentially bypass the legislative review process so long as lawmakers set aside money for counties to pay for the cost of the election. The state Department of Finance already sought a cost estimate from counties and lawmakers plan to approve $215 million to cover the local expense.

Ironically, the bill that passed Monday reverses a previous rule change passed by California Democrats four years ago to help one of their own who was facing a recall effort at the time.

"The bill lawmakers passed Monday is in contrast to the measures passed four years ago, when Democrats adjusted the recall rules to help State Sen. Josh Newman's odds of surviving a recall. At that time in 2017, lawmakers were looking to extend the timeline of certifying the recall election for the ballot, and added the review period that they're now trying to bypass," the Bee reported.

With no legislative review, the recall election could be held within months.

What was the reaction?

Republican lawmakers were understandably frustrated with Democrats.

"We have the unprecedented circumstance where Gov. Gavin Newsom, with the stroke of a pen, will be changing California law in order to try to beat back his own recall," Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R) said.

"It is an attempt to put a thumb on the scale, to try to obtain a partisan outcome for one side," Assemblyman Vince Fong (R) reacted, the AP noted.

Democrats, however, sold the rule change as trying to expedite the recall election that Republicans wanted.

"This bill ensures the election happens as quickly as possible, which, my belief is, that what's the recall was about, but also ensuring that as many Californians who want to participate can participate in this election," Assemblyman Phil Ting (D) said.

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Campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom has obtained enough signatures to trigger special election



A campaign to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom has obtained enough poll signatures to put the issue on the ballot, according to the office of California's secretary of state Monday.

The campaign needed to confirm 1.5 million signatures in order to get on the ballot and trigger a special election.

Newsom responded by tweeting a video claiming the recall effort was backed by white supremacists, "anti-vaccine QAnon extremists," and funded by the Republican Party.

"This Republican recall threatens our values and seeks to undo the important progress we've made -- from fighting COVID, to helping struggling families, protecting our environment, and passing commonsense gun violence solutions," tweeted Newsom.

This Republican recall threatens our values and seeks to undo the important progress we've made -- from fighting CO… https://t.co/BTN5RNHVhE
— Gavin Newsom (@Gavin Newsom)1619479045.0

"There's too much at stake," he added.

The campaign to recall Newsom got an enormous boost after the public relations disaster over Newsom's attendance at a dinner party at French Laundry, an exclusive restaurant. Newsom was admonishing Californians to stay indoors and avoid public gatherings at the time in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to one estimate, the petition went from 55,000 signatures before the French Laundry scandal to more than 500,000 signatures just a month later.

Newsom was upbraided by CNN's Jake Tapper in March over the incident.

"Now I know governor, you have apologized for that dinner, you have called it a mistake to go," Tapper said to Newsom. "But I was wondering at the time, and I don't think you've answered: What on Earth were you thinking?!"

The governor appeared annoyed at the question and blamed a judge for extending the deadline of the signature gathering instead of his own behavior.

According to Associated Press, people who signed petitions now have 30 days to withdraw their signatures. An election is likely in the fall and if Newsom survives the recall he will be up for re-election in 2022.

On Friday, former Olympics champion and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner announced that she would run against Newsom.

"I'm in! California is worth fighting for," Jenner said.

Here's more about the recall campaign heading to the ballot:

Gov. Newsom Recall Has Enough Signatures For Electionwww.youtube.com

Schwarzenegger warns Newsom: This recall effort is from 'ordinary people,' not 'extremists' — and looks a lot like the movement that took out Gray Davis



California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a likely recall election this year, thanks in large part to his pandemic lockdown and hypocritical behavior — most notably his infamous decision to head out to the French Laundry restaurant while telling Californians to stay home and not socialize.

Newsom has responded to the recall movement with derision, ripping it as a "partisan, Republican recall" being pushed by "extremists."

But one man who has seen the Golden State recall process up close — former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — is warning him not to fall for the lie that this is merely some GOP "power grab" and not a real campaign by "ordinary people."

What's happening?

Embattled Gov. Newsom has assured supporters that he's going to fight the recall and made it clear where he thinks it's coming from.

"I am not going to take this recall attempt lying down," he declared in a March political campaign email. "And let's call it what it is: it's a partisan, Republican recall — backed by the [Republican National Committee], anti-mask and anti-vax extremists, and pro-Trump forces who want to overturn the last election and have opposed much of what we have done to fight the pandemic."

But the Governator has a warning for Newsom: This actually looks a lot like the groundswell recall movement he saw 18 years ago.

Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood megastar who was elected governor of California following the successful recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 2003 after a statewide energy crisis, told Politico in an interview posted Wednesday that he sees a lot of similarities between the recall that ushered him into office and today's recall efforts.

"It's pretty much the same atmosphere today as it was then. There was dissatisfaction, to the highest level [in political leadership]," he told the outlet, adding, "It's the same vibe."

The action star pointed out Newsom's COVID hypocrisy as the last straw while "people are making sacrifices every day" as they "go through this [pandemic] challenge."

"And it's the same with the momentum. Something that sets it off to a higher level, kind of the straw that breaks the camel's back ... like an explosion," he said. "In Newsom's case, it was the French Laundry thing. With us, it was the power outages in 2003."

As for claims that this is a "Republican recall," Schwarzenegger doesn't buy it: These are "ordinary people" getting this done.

"The Republican Party is, like I have said, dying at the box office," he told Politico. "This is the crazy thing here, when they say it's a 'power grab' of the Republicans. Let me tell you, the [California] Republicans couldn't even get anyone elected. It's ludicrous — the Republican Party doesn't exist. These are the signatures of the ordinary folks that have signed on."

"The Democrats are going to come in and they say, 'It's a power grab,' which of course I heard a million times in 2003," he continued. "It had nothing to do then — and it has nothing to do today — with either party. People are dissatisfied. [The recall is] the people's way of kind of letting off some steam."

Will the recall happen?

Organizers of the recall turned in 2.1 million petition signatures earlier this month, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Election officials are checking to see if organizers garnered the 1.5 million valid ones necessary to get the recall on the ballot.

Both proponents and opponents of the recall effort assume the recall will be certified, with an election likely to happen in October at the earliest.

Recent poll numbers from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California show good numbers for Newsom so far, the Chronicle said Tuesday. Some 56% of likely voters oppose removing Newsom, while just 40% back the recall — including just 42% of independents.

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Jake Tapper hammers away at Gov. Newsom over his COVID hypocrisy: 'What on Earth were you thinking?!'



CNN host Jake Tapper hammered away at Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) during a contentious interview on his show Tuesday where he confronted him with his own hypocritical lockdown failures.

Newsom is facing a recall effort that got a jumpstart by the massive backlash to Newsom attending a swanky dinner party without observing social distancing guidelines.

"It's been observed that the recall petition had only around 50,000 signatures until you infamously attended that dinner with multiple other households at that fancy restaurant French Laundry or whatever it's called, a birthday party for a lobbyist no less, all while you were telling Californians that they should be staying at home," said Tapper.

"So about 55,000 signatures before you had that dinner, then a month later, that 50,000 signatures had become something like 500,000," he added.

"Now I know governor, you have apologized for that dinner, you have called it a mistake to go," Tapper continued. "But I was wondering at the time, and I don't think you've answered: What on Earth were you thinking?!"

"Well, it was a friend of over a quarter of a century, he was having his 50th birthday, restaurants were open in the state, I wasn't suggesting people should not eat. Where I was wrong, and I've owned this, and I've held myself to a higher level of accountability even my worst critics, is that there were too many people at the table and that was a mistake," Newsom explained.

"At the end of the day though, this recall petition was aided not just by that, was aided by a judge who also ultimately doubled the amount of time that they could get this recall supported and ultimately on the ballot," he added.

Newsom didn't explain, nor did Tapper add, that the judge had ruled to extend the recall deadline because coronavirus lockdown orders by the governor had hampered the recall effort by organizers.

He also complained that the recall effort received $3 million of support, some of which came from other parts of the country aside from California.

"So at the end of the day, it's complicated as to why this is on, but that's not determinative," Newsom concluded.

Tapper also forced Newsom to respond to criticism of his strict coronavirus lockdown orders that has led to massive economic losses for many Californians.

Here's the video of the contentious interview:

Governor Newsom responds to recall effort against himwww.youtube.com

Gov. Gavin Newsom blasts 'extremists' pushing for his recall, says they're 'partisan,' 'anti-mask,' 'anti-vax,' and 'pro-Trump'



Far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom ripped "extremists" he said are behind his recall effort, characterizing them as "partisan" supporters of former President Donald Trump who are against face masks and vaccines to combat COVID-19.

What are the details?

"I am not going to take this recall attempt lying down," Newsom declared in a political campaign email, according to National Public Radio. "And let's call it what it is: it's a partisan, Republican recall — backed by the [Republican National Committee], anti-mask and anti-vax extremists, and pro-Trump forces who want to overturn the last election and have opposed much of what we have done to fight the pandemic."

The Democratic governor also punched back at the recall effort Monday on Twitter:

I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall -- but I will fight it.There is too much at stake.Get… https://t.co/9NhCalrp7K
— Gavin Newsom (@Gavin Newsom)1615821011.0

"I won't be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it," he wrote. "There is too much at stake."

Newsom added in the tweet that "getting Californians vaccinated, our economy safely reopened, and our kids back in school are simply too important to risk."

His tweet also pointed to a "Stop the Republican Recall" website, which argues that "Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant" activists are behind the recall efforts as well.

More from NPR:

The governor's remarks come just two days before a deadline to submit the nearly 1.5 million signatures required to trigger a recall election. (The only requirement to get the question on the ballot is to obtain the signatures of 12% of voters in the last election for the office.)

That is a milestone the RecallGavin2020 Committee said it surpassed on Wednesday. In a statement, the group's chairman, Orrin Heatlie said more than 2 million signatures had been collected and "1,871,573 signatures have been pre verified internally through an outside third party vendor."

If the signatures are validated, Californians will likely be asked to vote on keeping or removing Newsom late this year, with a simple majority needed for the recall.

It would be only the second gubernatorial recall in the state's history. But it is the sixth such campaign against Newsom since he was reelected in a landslide victory in 2018. The others have failed to reach the signature threshold.

The outlet also said a group of national Democrats rallied around Newsom, including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), as well as independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont).

"Right-wing Republicans in CA are trying to recall Gavin Newsom for the crime of telling people to wear masks and for listening to scientists during COVID," Sanders said in a statement, NPR reported. "Extremist Republicans have done enough to undermine democracy already. We must all unite to oppose the recall in California."

Padilla said, "The same Republicans who refused to hold Donald Trump accountable for the deadly insurrection of January 6th are now trying to hold Governor Newsom accountable for the failures of Donald Trump," the outlet added.

More than just the GOP want Newsom out

Ana Kasparian — a far-left co-host of progressive political channel "The Young Turks" — earlier this month said she joined the recall effort: "I'm a native Angeleno, I was born and raised in California, I love my state, I love the people in this state. But it is an absolute wasteland right now. Every freeway bridge is full of people living in tents. There's excrement on our sidewalks. It's unsafe. Crime has gone up. And when it comes to coronavirus, I mean, the fish rots from the head down."