[ad_1]
Supporters of an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are still collecting signatures, but rivals are already announcing their intention to run.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer plans to challenge the governor if the recall qualifies for the ballot this year, or in 2022 if it doesn’t. In an interview with The Times, the Republican attacked Newsom’s handling of the economy, homelessness and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s time to be a voice for Californians who are suffering because Sacramento can’t do the basics,” Faulconer said. “This campaign will be about restoring balance and common sense in California, getting people back to work, getting our kids back to school, and making people proud of our state again.”
Promoters of the recall are due to submit 1.5 million verified signatures by mid-March. If the measure qualifies, voters will be asked two questions in an election later this year: whether they support Newsom’s recall and which candidate they want to replace if the recall is successful.
Faulconer is said to be one of Democrat Newsom’s main challengers. He said he had previously raised or received pledges for $ 1 million.
Another Republican who has said he will run in a recall election is businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom in the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich, registered as an independent voter, has also said he plans to join the race.
Faulconer, 54, was mayor of San Diego from 2014 to 2020. He ruled the Democratic city as a moderate, saw a decrease in homelessness during his tenure, and was long considered one of the rare California Republicans to stand a chance of winning office in a state that last elected a Republican to state office in 2006.
He complicated his candidacy by doing an about-face on his vision of former President Trump. In 2016, he said he could never support the then GOP candidate because “his divisive rhetoric is unacceptable.” But he said last month he voted for Trump in 2020 because he believes the president is best placed to restore an economy ravaged by the pandemic.
Trump is deeply unpopular in California and lost the state in November by 29 percentage points to Joe Biden.
Faulconer deflected questions about his support for Trump by repeatedly claiming his campaign will be focused on California, not Washington, D.C. He did not respond directly when asked if the former president was responsible of the January 6 uprising at the United States Capitol.
Faulconer hesitated when asked how his commitment to keep up with the science regarding COVID-19 squares with Trump’s handling of the pandemic, such as suggesting injecting disinfectant and his reluctance to wear masks.
“The former president is out of office, and I think it’s absolutely time we focused on the California issues,” Faulconer said. “This campaign is going to be forward looking.”
Cox and Cernovich have also previously backed Trump, a point Newsom’s campaign will use against them if the recall qualifies.
“All of these Trump supporters will be fighting each other … but for now we need them to stop pushing people to shut down our mass vaccination sites like they tried to do at Dodger Stadium this weekend, “spokesman Dan Newman said. .
Cox said he was running because Newsom had failed to lead.
“The state is in crisis,” Cox told Fox 40 in Sacramento, in a segment that aired this weekend. He said housing issues and homelessness had worsened during Newsom’s tenure, and he highlighted the governor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The last straw, as far as I’m concerned, is the failure in terms of vaccine delivery,” Cox said. “It is unacceptable. This is just one of a series of cases of mismanagement that politicians led by Gavin Newsom have seen us see, and that must change. And I’m just not sitting there watching it. I’m really going to do something about it.
Cox, 65, spent $ 5.7 million of his own money in the 2018 race, which he lost to Newsom by 24 percentage points. He is one of the main funders of the recall effort.
Cernovich, 43, has pushed false conspiracy theories such as a pedophile ring run out of a pizza place in Washington, DC. He said he wanted to pressure Newsom in a debate over pandemic lockdowns, which he compared to war crimes and human rights violations.
“There’s no way I can win in California. Zero percent, “Cernovich said in a rambling and conspiratorial 20-minute online video, adding that if he” can get a sufficient base of support, then I can force “Newsom to respond to the shutdowns.
[ad_2]
Source link