NEWSOM STAYS: Governor survives California's recall election that posed the biggest threat yet to his leadership
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Grace Panetta
Sep 15, 2021, 17:27 IST
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a No on the Recall campaign event with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at IBEW-NECA Joint Apprenticeship Training Center on September 08, 2021 in San Leandro, California
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Insider and Decision Desk HQ are projecting that Gov. Gavin Newsom will survive the California gubernatorial recall. Decision Desk called the race at 8:21 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Per this projected call, Newsom will remain governor of California.
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How the recall works and what was at stake:
California is one of 19 states where voters unhappy with the direction of their state can kick their leaders to the curb before a regularly scheduled election.
Californians last recalled a governor in 2003, when voters booted Gov. Gray Davis out of office and chose the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him. Issues including an energy crisis and rolling blackouts, a controversial car tax, and a sluggish economy following the dot-com bust dominated that election.
This time, Republican activists' efforts to recall Newsom were buoyed by disapproval of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and frustration with the administration's COVID-19 restrictions. Other issues defining the recall include the increasing unaffordability of housing in the state and extreme weather events like wildfires.
Californians were faced with two questions on the ballot: whether to recall Newsom (a simple yes or no) and, if so, who should replace him. The first question failed to receive a simple "yes" majority for Newsom to get the boot. On the second question, the winner to replace him could have won with just a plurality and not a majority of the vote.
Other Republicans running in the recall included former Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego and the 2018 GOP gubernatorial nominee, John Cox. Neither the California Republican Party nor national Republicans, however, had attempted to consolidate support around a single candidate.
The reality-TV star and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, the YouTuber Kevin Paffrath, and a host of other minor candidates also ran in the recall.
Unlike in 2003, when Davis' lieutenant governor ran on the second ballot as an "insurance policy," Democrats chose not to put up a replacement candidate, instead urging their supporters to vote "no" on question one and leave question two blank.
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