A few weeks ago, the Democrats in California were worried about the recall vote in August as some polls suggested that Governor Gavin Newsom was neck to neck in the recall race as support for a Republican Larry Elder kept increasing. However, the tide turned in favor of Governor Newsom, with a healthy turnout of predominantly Democratic voters in a deep blue state by poll day.
Poll results late Tuesday when over 60 percent of the vote were counted as well as results on Wednesday morning when 70 percent of the vote was counted indicated that Newsom would not be recalled and had not only survived but had comfortably won.
Late Tuesday night, Newsom thanked his supporters for allowing him to remain as Governor of California. He said that he wanted to focus on what they had said yes to as a state which included science, vaccines, ending the pandemic and more.
He mentioned that the voters had said yes people’s right to vote without fraud or voter suppression. He also added that the Golden State said yes to women’s fundamental constitutional rights, to diversity and to inclusion.
Governor Newsom received a lot of support from national leaders of the party who helped him in his recall campaign. Some of them who influenced the voters by attending rallies or taking part in advertisement campaigns included
- President Joe Biden
- Vice President Harris
- Former President Barack Obama
- Senator Elizabeth Warren
- Senator Bernie Sanders – Independent
All these high profile, popular leaders gave a boost to the recall campaign that was floundering earlier. President Joe Biden also asked Californians if they were ready to bring in a Trump clone if Newsom did not win the recall vote with a resounding No and this might have jolted many of the natives to vote through mail or in person.
Conservative host Larry Elder had energized the vote bank of Republicans and the independents by focusing on homelessness and the high cost of living. However, he also spoke of a roll back of COVID-19 mandates including vaccines and masks which could have also energized the earlier apathetic Democratic voters as Delta cases surged in California, although currently the cases are slowly reaching a downward curve.
