California GOP won’t approve Newsom recall candidate

OAKLAND – The California Republican Party has chosen not to support any of the candidates vying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in the upcoming recall election, favoring unity over a potentially confrontational selection.

Hours before party delegates were called upon to choose between four Republican candidates, two party officials circulated a motion to cancel the process and instead issue any approvals. They warned that selecting a candidate could reduce the likelihood that voters will remember Newsom because “the tip of the scales CAGOP may deter some voters.” This motion prevailed with the support of Party President Jessica Millan Patterson.

“We cannot afford to discourage voters who are passionate about a particular candidate, but who cannot vote because their preferred candidate has not received approval,” wrote Committee members Harmeet Dhillon and Shawn Steel. national republican.

The eleventh hour movement capped weeks of internal maneuvering over the California Republican Party’s appropriate role in the recall. As governors’ campaigns fought for the post, a vocal contingent of GOP activists and several Republican candidates opposed the approval of any candidate. They warned that the emergence of insider favoritism could dampen Tory enthusiasm and undermine the overarching goal of recalling Newsom.

The Democratic governor is still the favorite to beat the recall based on recent polls, but the race remains tight and turnout is hard to predict. Republicans are motivated to oust Newsom and are participating in large numbers, while Democrats and Independents seem less motivated so far. It gives Republicans a chance in this blue state if Newsom supporters don’t participate.

A compromise brokered by the leadership of the California Republican Party set the bar high for approval. A candidate had to get 60% of the vote rather than a simple majority, and activists could vote “without support” rather than choosing between the top two voters. This made it likely that no candidate would break through.

But some party officials still concluded that a vote was not worth fracturing the base. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer embraced this logic on the eve of the vote by urging the party to vote against anyone’s approval, effectively pulling out of the controversy – an extraordinary choice for a candidate who has been seen as the choice of the party establishment but has slipped into the polls. Republican candidates and activists also attacked the approval process, arguing that it was in favor of Faulconer.

“The California Republican Party should unite for the sole purpose of building support for this historic reminder,” Faulconer wrote in an email to supporters hours before the vote. “Since the close of nominations, it has become clear that endorsing one candidate over another would only distract from this goal.”

Faulconer’s dissent and response reflected a fluid Republican field just five weeks away from the September 14 election. Conservative radio host Larry Elder has climbed to the top of the polls and overtook other Republicans after less than a month in the race. But he got pluralities rather than absolute majorities in the polls, suggesting the party has not united behind a single candidate.

Elder’s rapid rise has posed a challenge for Faulconer’s attempts to present himself as the favorite. Faulconer’s team and allies had long pushed for approval. But they have backed down in recent weeks as the party’s pullback mounted and Elder’s late push increased the possibility that Faulconer would not be able to garner sufficient party support.

An approval would have important political advantages. This candidate could then present himself to Republican voters as the choice of the party, an important signal in a field of 46 which includes 24 Republican candidates. The California Republican Party campaign apparatus is also reportedly deploying resources on behalf of the candidate.

Although Republicans do not approve of a candidate, Newsom makes Elder the party’s standard bearer in appeals to voters. His campaign highlighted Elder’s comment to The Sacramento Bee this week that there shouldn’t be a minimum wage and pointed to a Huffington Post story that Elder highlighted his July radio show with a skeptic of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Recall bulletins ask whether to recall Newsom and who should replace it; if a majority votes to oust Newsom on the first question, then the candidate with the most votes on the second question becomes governor. This means that a plurality, not a majority, is needed to win. Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger won in 2003 with 48.6 percent of the vote.