In recent months, California Gov. Newsom has put his focus on the presidential election, heavily supporting Biden and his campaign. More time and effort spent on those activities in practice means less time and focus on his California state duties just when California residents face serious issues like huge budget deficit and growing illegal immigration at the border with Mexico. And just when he was getting increasingly involved with more public appearances, a conservative group from California decided to use the situation and launch a fresh campaign on Monday to remove him from office in what appears to be a fifth recall attempt.
California Governor Gavin Newsom might replace President Joe Biden as presidential candidate
California Governor Gavin Newsom is often considered as a possible future U.S. President, especially in a situation when people think that President Joe Biden might suspended his bid for reelection and decides not run again due to his age. Even though Newsom helps Biden all the time and has repeated numerous times that he’s not planning to run for president, some political experts think he could be a good choice if needed to step in and replace Biden.
Newsom is younger, has lots of experience running California, and knows how to talk to people in a way that gets them excited. He’s also good at dealing with big problems like sickness, fires, and people not having homes. But for now, Newsom says he’s not trying to become president and that stories saying he is are just rumors. However, Newsom now has another, very serious problem in California that he needs to solve before taking additional political steps.
California conservative group wants to oust Gov. Newsom
A group of conservative activists is trying again to remove California Governor Gavin Newsom from office. They are unhappy about the state’s big budget gap and say Newsom should be stopped before he tries to run for president. This group gave Newsom’s office the official paperwork to start this process on Monday morning. This is the first step in a process that will take a lot of time and money to get their proposal on the ballot for a statewide vote.
Newsom doesn’t have limits on how much money he can get for his campaign
In the past, Newsom, who doesn’t have limits on how much money he can get for his campaign, managed to win against a previous attempt to recall him in 2021. He had about $75 million from his groups and supporters to help him. That recall was also pushed by some of the same people behind this new attempt. Newsom won easily against Larry Elder, a Republican who was criticized a lot, sometimes even by people who wanted the recall. There have been at least five other tries to recall Newsom, but none of them went anywhere.
The conservative Rescue California is behind the initiative
The group leading this new effort, called Rescue California, says they are doing this because of Newsom’s political ambitions and his big role in supporting President Joe Biden’s reelection for 2024. They argue that Newsom is too focused on politics across the country while California needs to figure out how to deal with a huge budget problem. A recent report from a nonpartisan office suggests California’s budget deficit could be $73 billion, which is almost twice what Newsom had predicted.
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“Gavin Newsom has abandoned the state to advance his presidential ambitions, leaving behind a $73 billion budget deficit and a public safety, immigration and education crisis,” said Anne Dunsmore, an Orange County fundraiser and the campaign director for Rescue California. She said more than 400 Californians of varying political persuasion have joined together to serve as official proponents of the new recall. That includes others from the last effort such as Orrin Heatlie, the retired county sheriff’s sergeant from Yolo who helped get the ball rolling in 2020.
“California needs a full-time governor who is fully focused on the serious problems the state and its citizens are facing,” Dunsmore said. “This may be our last opportunity to rescue and restore our state, while we highlight for the rest of the country the destruction Newsom has left in his wake.”
If the recall effort gets enough support to be put to a vote, it would be a big problem for Governor Newsom. However, at this early point, it could also help him because it gives him a conservative opponent to rally against. In the past, especially in 2021 and 2022, Newsom used the recall efforts to grow a large online fundraising campaign within the Democratic Party.
Organizers will likely need around 1.6 million signatures to get the initiative moving forward
To get a recall on the ballot, they need signatures from 12 percent of the people who voted in the last governor’s election. This time, that means about 1.38 million signatures. But the people organizing this think they need closer to 1.6 million signatures to make up for any that might not be accepted.
The group Rescue California and its allies have decided not to pay people to collect signatures outside stores, which is a common way to get signatures for things like this. They plan to try other ways to get support, like mailing things to potential supporters.
Newsom’s team is taking this issue seriously
Even though it’s not likely to succeed, Newsom’s team is taking this recall effort seriously. Nathan Click, speaking for Newsom’s campaign, said they see this move as one by “Trump Republicans” who are against Newsom because he’s working hard to support democracy and help reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Click said Newsom is focused on this battle and believes democracy itself is what’s being voted on here. He’s committed to continuing the fight.
