California Gov. Gavin Newsom ably fended off an attempt to remove him from office, changing the stakes of the contest from a referendum on his performance into a partisan fight over Trumpism and the coronavirus. Some takeaways from the recall attempt.
Republicans intended the recall to be a referendum on Democrats’ rule of California, and the homelessness, crime, high housing costs and energy problems that accompanied it. But in a bit of political ju-jitsu — and with the help of the spreading delta variant — Newsom turned it into a referendum on Republicans’ opposition to precautions against the coronavirus.
Even while ballots were still being cast, Republicans were claiming the election was “rigged.” It was a baseless allegation — and a strange one considering Republicans performed relatively well under the same California election system in November, gaining four congressional seats. That’s what happened in 2003 when Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger won a recall against Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger’s moderate politics never would have won a GOP primary but were appealing enough to voters fed up with the incumbent. Some Republicans hoped that would happen again this year, with former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a moderate, on the ballot.
Some Republicans had hoped the populist approach of Elder, who is African American, could appeal to California’s diverse electorate. But that doesn’t seem to have worked. Three years later, his state is reeling from a brutal drought and accompanying wildfires. Heat waves trigger rolling blackouts. Homelessness continues to plague the state’s megacities as the cost of housing shows no signs of letting up.
Newsom’s political operation was able to keep any major Democrats from running as an alternative in the recall, freeing him up to paint the effort as a partisan Republican scam. Will he be able to keep challengers out in 2022?The recall is the first significant election of Joe Biden’s presidency and served as something of a political stress test for both parties ahead of next year’s midterms.
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