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“Although we have defeated Trump, we have not defeated Trumpism. Trumpism is still alive and well, even here in the state of California,” Newsom said, standing in front of tables full of banking volunteers by phone at the Hecho restaurant in Mexico City. “If you don’t believe me, just consider… the person who might take the oath of office, to step into the governor’s office in just a few weeks if we don’t reject this reminder.”
He then asked them to imagine the fate of their most pressing political priorities if he was replaced by Larry Elder, the Tory talk radio host who quickly became his most formidable opponent in the GOP after a late entry into the race. Newsom reviewed a range of Elder’s positions that directly contradict the views of a majority of Californians: Republicans’ opposition to a minimum wage and a ban on assault weapons; its past skepticism of the climate crisis and its support for offshore drilling; and Elder’s striking gender observation in a 2000 column in Capitalism Magazine, in which he wrote that “women know less than men about politics, economics and current events.”
“Don’t think for a second that this reminder doesn’t apply to you all,” Newsom warned supporters gathered under rows of red, green and white flags rustling on the patio. “It’s about each of us and the values we hold dear.”
The first mail-in ballots, which will be given to every registered voter in the state, start coming out this week. For months, the result of the September 14 recall seemed like a fatality in a state that elected Newsom just two years ago with 62% of the vote – a place where simple calculations overwhelmingly favor registered Democrats, who are almost two outnumber the Republicans. to one. As the pandemic raged, there was feverish enthusiasm among the Republican minority to recall Newsom, but often GOP rank-and-file voters couldn’t remember the name of a single GOP candidate running for replace him in talks with CNN across the state.
That changed when Elder entered the race in July, highlighting the sleep contest. Although Elder is not a household name in California, he has been well known and widely admired for decades in conservative circles – a charismatic and frequent presence on television as well as radio. In a group of GOP candidates that failed to generate enthusiasm among voters, his late entry injected a jolt of electricity into the recall race.
But it also allowed Newsom to refine his message – making the race less of an abstraction for his party voters and more of a direct ideological contrast to an opponent he may present as a threat to the Democratic agenda.
In an interview on Saturday, Newsom mingled his remarks with criticism of Elder and acknowledged the challenge of getting Democrats to pay attention to “an election out of month and out of year” – noting that it is the likely voters who become decisive , rather than the larger universe of registered voters who lean heavily on Democrats.
“We are our base, we are going to win, without a doubt,” Newsom said. “This is not a persuasion campaign. People are locked in. But the profound consequences – especially the leading candidate on the other side, Larry Elder – people just need to take a close look,” a- he declared.
Elder, he added, “promotes the same kind of fanaticism and hatred” as former President Donald Trump, whom he supported at the polls. Elder rejected this association with Trump – noting that he voted for many other Republican presidential candidates – but declined several CNN interview requests. (CNN arrested Elder outside his rally in San Jose, where he forcefully declined to say whether he believed Trump’s baseless lies about the 2020 election fraud.)
“Democrats need to wake up (to) what’s at stake, and we’ve made it easy,” Newsom told CNN. “That’s all postal voting. Simple question: ‘Should he be called back?’ ‘No.’ Send him back. Don’t even consider the second question with those 46 candidates. ”
Newsom’s approval ratings suggest it is in a much stronger position than the government of the day. Gray Davis was in 2003 when he was recalled by voters and replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the frustration and anger many voters feel over the resurgence of the pandemic, the state’s historic drought and resulting water restrictions, and raging California wildfires have complicated guesswork on how many voters will care enough about this election to actually fill out their ballots and return them.
If Newsom lands on the first question, the person with the most votes on the second question will win, even if their percentage is a fraction of the total vote. Democrats are therefore trying to keep their constituents focused on the first question.
To make this message simple, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Gonzalez sang a response song to an unusual appeal before inviting Newsom to speak on Saturday in East Los Angeles: “Let me have you. to hear say “No! “”
“No to this reminder! No to retreating progress, ”Gonzalez asked, as the crowd responded with loud cries of“ No! “Can I get a ‘No’ this morning?” No ! No ! No !
Newsom made this point in his interview with CNN: “We just need to build that enthusiasm. That’s what the next 30 days are like.”
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