CA Gov. Gavin Newsom fends off the the GOP-backed recall, he’ll stay in office

(FILE) Gavin Newsom says California needs 50,000 hospital beds to respond to coronavirus COVID-19 Pa...

California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom will stay governor, after successfully fending off a half-baked and expensive recall effort. The Democratic Party in California pushed turnout over the last month, and a surge of big-name national Democrats came to California in recent weeks to support Newsom. While Caitlyn Jenner’s half-assed run for governor got a lot of attention, there were some Republicans in the mix who maybe had a shot at taking down Newsom, but they didn’t stand a chance when the state’s Democratic machinery began chugging away.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated a GOP-backed effort to remove him from office, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk. A majority of California voters rejected Tuesday’s recall effort and voted “no” on whether they want to remove Newsom from office.

Newsom will remain in office: Speaking from Sacramento, Newsom thanked Californians for rejecting the recall effort. He also addressed the divisions in the country, describing democracy like an “antique vase.” “You can drop it and smash it in a million different pieces. And that’s what we’re capable of doing if we don’t stand up to meet the moment and push back,” he said.

GOP candidate Larry Elder acknowledged defeat: Elder, the leading Republican replacement and one of 46 candidate who qualified to have their name listed in the race to replace the governor, told his supports: “Let’s be gracious in defeat.” He added: “By the way, we may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war.”

Newsom’s re-election bid: A Newsom campaign source says the Democratic governor will wake up Wednesday morning with $24 million of cash on hand for his re-election and an “online army” of volunteers that he can reconnect with as his future unfolds.

[From CNN]

One of the biggest takeaways for Democrats across the board is that with the new Covid variants, smart and effective pandemic responses are still widely popular. Vaccinated Americans want to be able to go out and do things, but they’re still happy to have social distancing protocols, vaccine mandates, widespread testing and masking. The Republican Party’s overwhelming message on the pandemic is so crazy, that alone is turning off moderate voters.

The one thing that the GOP can take to heart is that they’re still capable of massive, expensive scams and they can still “force” Democrats to spend a lot of money in traditionally blue states. The CA recall cost more than $300 million – that’s money that Democrats could have spent in swing states for local and state elections, or as a midterm war chest. I’m actually a little bit worried about how much money the GOP is spending in my state, Virginia, in this year’s governor’s race. I feel like the CA recall was a GOP feint and really they’re targeting the governor’s mansion in Richmond.

Here’s Caitlyn Jenner conceding. LOL. She’s asinine.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.

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48 Responses to “CA Gov. Gavin Newsom fends off the the GOP-backed recall, he’ll stay in office”

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  1. Amy T says:

    The ease with which California can mount a recall effort really needs to be looked at – the signatures of only a tiny fraction of the number of people who voted in the previous election are all that’s needed to set it off.

    Hopefully the state legislature takes that up now that this is over.

  2. Coco says:

    Caitlyn Jenner says, “I can’t believe this many people voted to keep him in office.” What she means as a Republican is she can’t believe this many people voted full stop. “Argh, why aren’t our voter suppression efforts working?!”
    I haven’t had the energy to read too much about the details of this recall attempt, since I know it would have made me anxious. I’m very relieved it failed.

  3. Sofia says:

    This was so stupid. Isn’t Newsom up for election anyways next year? The GOP should have spent the year building up their attack on Newsom for 2022 and maybe tried and won there. California is pretty blue so I don’t know how well it would have worked but it could have been somewhat close I guess. Now not only have they lost, they may have also handed a victory to him in next year. Maybe an easy/landslide one.

    • WTF says:

      NPR had a really great explainer on this. In California, there are a lot more registered Democrats than Republicans. With CA recall laws, this was probably Republicans best shot. You only need a small fraction of voters to get a recall. Then the vote is 2 part. First you vote yes or no to recall. Then you vote for the opposition candidate you want. So if Democrats didn’t get enough people out to vote no, then a minority of votes could win. Someone with 20% of the votes could win.

    • SpankyB says:

      California threw over a Democrat for a Republican in the last recall election. I’m sure Republicans thought they could do it again.

      • House of No says:

        Yeah, but that was Arnold, a celebrity and not the kind of Republican we’re dealing with now. While I didn’t vote for him, he was still tolerable and Gray Davis was a bit of a mess.

        Big difference.

    • Leah says:

      They knew that running in an election year against an incumbent Dem was a death knell so that’s why they started this ridiculous recall in the first place. They were betting on Dems sitting it out and not voting. They were also thinking of the last recall, Arnold only won through name recognition and the fact that he’s a movie star. Larry Elder and Kaitlyn Jenner have no such oomph. One thing learned is the state needs to change its recall rules.

      Also Elder pretty much buried himself when he started talking out of the Trump playbook. He was going to turn this state into magatland and we just can’t have that. He wanted to be king, just like Trump did. Now that it’s over the LAPD needs to step up their investigation of him for the domestic abuse, drug and weapons charges. Magats are obsessed with pointing out that Newsom went to a fancy restaurant during 50% covid capacity rule but what they don’t seem to care about is Elder terrorizing his ex with a gun.

  4. Zan says:

    This recall was a stupid, wasteful tantrum.

  5. Andrew’s Nemesis says:

    I was deeply relieved to hear this news. My mother and I are thinking of emigrating to California – the UK no longer feels like home, the weather is atrocious and Brexit is a grade A nightmare – and were very fearful that the most liberal state in the US could crumble under the leadership of a Trumpesque nut. Just hope that Orange himself doesn’t get back in in the next election.

    • Merricat says:

      I absolutely think he will try, but his time has peaked. He won’t win again.

    • Monica says:

      Come to California! It gets a lot of bad press these days, but I think a good portion of that is sour grapes and jealousy. I love it here.

      • sparky says:

        I just moved (within LA County) and my new neighborhood Trader Joe’s is on the waterfront. Well ok– it’s on a marina but there’s water and boats and signs in the parking lot that boaty people better not park there. Before the TJ’s was built it was a dry dock for boats. So yeah, CA has a lot of problems but there are a lot of positives as well!! C’mon down!!!

    • Noodle says:

      Andrew’s Nemesis, while it is a largely blue state, there are definitely pockets of “red” within California. I live in an Orange County beach town, and it’s shocking to me how many of the rich and powerful here are Trump supporters. A lot of it reeks of white supremacy. Be selective about where you end up. There are some beautiful, wonderful places here to live, but also some ugliness.

    • Nicole says:

      As I Californian, I say the more the merrier. There are many Brit ex-pats here. Load up on the sunscreen and learn to conserve water. You should be fine. We’re way too casual here. Learn to love jeans, sweat shirts, and sandals. Mi casa es su casa.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ Andrew’s Nemesis, I was very scared as well, but as an American. The lengths to which the GOP/MAGATS will use to try and take over through any means necessary shows that no one state, Governor, Senator or House member that represents Democrats are fair game. They will continue this onslaught of aggressive take-over for years to come. We are under assault from every right wing nut job to destroy democracy in America, no matter how it is achieved.

  6. Bettyrose says:

    Forty-five minutes. That’s how long it took to call this BS election. $250,000,000 so the voters could offer a resounding affirmation of the guy they already fucking elected.

    • MoonTheLoon says:

      I have half a mind to start a petition to bill Elder, that Orrin guy and Cox (who basically began all this) for the cost of all this. Perhaps if this type of thing is implemented, these idiots will think twice. With the GOP, hitting them in the pocketbook is the only way to get results.

  7. Nicole says:

    I voted no recall, and canvassed. Complacency was our enemy. Thanks to crazy Texas and Larry Elder’s libertarian BS, registered Democrats woke up. Two months ago it was a different story. Virginia, good luck. Apparently they are making inroads with the critical race theory. Here’s to hoping you can beat back the Trumpy-ness that’s infiltrated the GOP.

    • FilmTurtle says:

      Yeah, it was looking shaky for a minute. It shocked me how many progressive coworkers were not planning to vote and just shrugged it off, so I’ve been repeating “Vote NO” ad nauseam for the last three weeks.

      • grabbyhands says:

        I shouldn’t be surprised, but I continue to be astonished at the level that Democrats seem to think they don’t have to put in much effort in any fight because they believe they are basically owed a win because the opposition is terrible. That the opposition IS terrible is beside the point -it’s not how you stay in the win column.

        The Democrats already have two foxes in the henhouse (Manchin and Sinema) – they don’t need to help the GOP further by not taking every threat seriously. We are not untouchable.

    • SpankyB says:

      I really think showing Elder’s BS helped get people out to vote. I don’t think anyone took Jenner seriously (as the most known candidate) so when it looked like Elder could be the winner it spurned people on. The ads saying don’t let California become like Texas or Florida was ingenious.

      • sparky says:

        I agree that people’s dislike of Elder helped Newsom. The race was much tighter before Elder became the frontrunner. Elder’s ads were downright scary. He wanted to follow the lead of Texas and Florida on many issues including Covid restrictions. As I’ve watched the rest of the country enact crazy legislation especially regarding voter suppression and abortion, I’ve comforted myself by the idea that at least California would be an outlier and such things wouldn’t happen here. Elder shattered that notion.

        Voting NO was an easy choice but part 2— not so much. I really couldn’t decide between Caitlyn Jenner and Angelyne so I didn’t vote for anyone. (Seriously)

      • SpankyB says:

        Ha! I voted for the Dem who ran/owned a pot dispensary. I almost voted for Angelyne but just couldn’t do it.

      • Christine says:

        If Kevin Faulconer had been at the top of the heap, it could have gone very differently. I’m not sure when the republicans are going to realize vomiting Trump-isms is not a good look, especially in a blue state.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ Nicole, thank you for taking the action to the streets by every contact, call and voter in California. I was scared as hell that this would not turn into Newsome being unseated. And we are being too naive to think that this won’t happen again or that the Repugnant’s aren’t already creating a massive fight for total control in every sector that’s possible. They are riding the tsunami of Drumpfism and they have no intention of allowing that power and influence to go to waste.

    • Rise & Shine says:

      Thank you all so much for all your efforts, they are appreciated more than I can ever express. We did it! YAY! Too tired to even write a proper response today but I am so proud of you all, so grateful and so happy. The implications of this win affect us all coast to coast and throughout the world. A major, much deserved and justified victory for us all. Well done to you all, and again, many thanks, and let’s keep going! LOVE.

      • Alarmjaguar says:

        Echoing that gratitude! As a former Californian whose job took them out of state, I was so worried about this. Thanks to all who voted and canvassed

    • Christine says:

      Agreed, Nicole. I was always going to vote, I am a sucker for that “I voted” sticker, but once Larry Elder opened his mouth and Trump fell out, I started talking about the recall to anyone and everyone that would listen. He is the reason so many Dems came out, I am convinced.

    • WithTheAmerican says:

      Thank you from this former Californian!

  8. LarkspurLM says:

    YAY Fellow Californians WE DID IT! I watched the results at 8pm and was very pleasantly surprised at how we shunned the opposition. Bigly shunned. Ride the blue wave until 2024 and beyond baby!

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I am SO FREAKING HAPPY that it wasn’t a close win, but an epic beat-down. As one GOP pundit said on Twitter, they didn’t just lose, they were embarrassed and humiliated.

      Suck on those lemons, ya fools! Pay attention all you wannabe Trumpers, this landslide defeat could also be yours if you chose to f*ck with the bear.

  9. Leah says:

    So proud of my state right now.

    Trump and his cronies/minions will never have our 55 votes and I am enjoying watching them squirm with that knowledge. Now, the GOP needs to pay up for this costly, unnecessary recall.

  10. Ana says:

    Happy for us Californians! We got out to vote by mail or by in-person. I did a little part in phone banking as many others in CA. Thank you for those out of state volunteers who also helped us. We are touched and will do the same (Texas *cough*). We should all be engaged and not let our guard down because those nut jobs will steal our voting rights under our noses.

  11. Green Desert says:

    Thank you, California and CA CB-ers.

    I’ve been so disheartened about the state of our democracy. Unless an elected official commits gross misconduct or is clearly incompetent, there should be no grounds to try to remove them from office before their time is up. Newsom did/is neither of those things. It is horrifying that the GOP has so blatantly said f*ck you to the democratic process in numerous ways over the past five years or so. Recalls, questioning a legitimate election, new Jim Crow-style voting laws, an INSURRECTION. I barely recognize this country.

  12. Tiffany :) says:

    ” The CA recall cost more than $300 million – that’s money that Democrats could have spent in swing states for local and state elections, or as a midterm war chest”

    Just to be clear, the $276 Million that was spent on this recall was TAX PAYER money. It could have been spent on actually addressing issues like wildfires or homelessness, but instead it was spent on a political stunt at the request of a teeny tiny itty bitty minority.

    Democrats only raised around $83 Million to oppose the recall, not $300M. And Newsom can use those funds for re-election.

  13. Rapunzel says:

    So even my Trumper infested reddish leaning county voted no. And we had a half dozen Trump parades before the 2020 election.
    That is how badly the GOP botched this coup attempt.

    And it was Elder’s, fault. He believes companies should be able to fire women for getting pregnant. And that reparations should go to decendants of slave owners and not decendents of slaves…for lost property. The guy was a perfect person for Dems to focus the attack on to get out the vote.

  14. Jumpingthesnark says:

    Texan here, very glad to see that Californians have elected to stay with good leadership and not joined Texas and Florida in the crapshow dumpster fire of governors.

  15. MaryContrary says:

    Californian here-that was a total waste of time and money. F-ing Republicans are THE WORST.

  16. MerlinsMom1018 says:

    From a native Texan to my fellow CB’ers in California… CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

  17. Julia K says:

    Wasn’t Kimberly Guilfoyle his first wife? Now she is a Trump Republican. What changed in her life with him that she did a 180?

  18. jferber says:

    Merricat, I fear you speak too soon. I’ll only feel hopeful when the Orange one himself is six feet under. But then there are his copycats. What a crapfest.

  19. Melanie P says:

    Shut up caitlyn…and take a seat…no one cares what *you* think…
    Hooray,,for Gov Newsom…we love you! 💕

  20. House of No says:

    Californian here. I want my money back! We should sue the CA GOP and everyone that created this mess to get those funds into programs and other needs.