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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder has bolstered his ascendant status among Republicans who want to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election in September, raising $ 4.5 million for his campaign in just 19 days and quickly eclipsing his leading rivals, government records showed on Friday.
Elder’s wave of donations, which he has collected since entering the race July 12-31, has shifted his fundraising totals beyond other prominent Republicans, including former Kevin Faulconer mayor of San Diego who has been fundraising for months for 2021 and 2022 campaigns.
Elder’s donations averaged $ 235,000 for each day he raced, and he continued to accumulate thousands more in August. Meanwhile, Elder has topped the polls for the GOP candidates in the Sept. 14 election, which also shows an increasingly close race for Newsom, despite California’s steep Democratic tilt.
Elder ended July with about $ 2.3 million in the bank, after covering expenses.
Despite this, Newsom and his supporters have a vast cash advantage over his rivals, and as a target of the recall, he can raise unlimited funds. The lead committee opposing the recall collected $ 46 million through the end of July, fueled by large donations from public unions, tech companies and the entertainment industry. After spending, the committee had about $ 26 million at the end of July.
By comparison, former Republican congressman Doug Ose said he raised $ 418,000 through the end of July through two committees that can fund gubernatorial nominations in 2021 and 2022, when Newsom, s’ he survives the recall, would be re-elected. Faulconer has raised more than $ 4 million through a trio of committees related to the recall of gubernatorial nominations in 2021 and 2022.
State Congressman Kevin Kiley’s recall committee said it had raised $ 834,000 in total contributions until July 31, but that included a transfer of $ 262,000 from a separate committee that had put money in the bank. for his run for the 2022 Assembly.
Reality TV personality Caitlyn Jenner said she raised nearly $ 750,000 through the end of July, ending up with around $ 22,000 on hand after spending. However, the campaign was in debt of over $ 150,000.
Elder’s rapid rise to power caught the attention of Newsom, who told campaign volunteers on Thursday that Elder was out of step with California families and mainstream values.
In remarks to the nationally endorsed radio host on Friday, Newsom told reporters in San Bernardino County that Elder “believes the minimum wage should be zero … thinks women don’t ‘have no right to choose and wants to overthrow Roe v Wade (…) think we need more offshore oil drilling and fracking’ in the state.
Elder campaign spokeswoman Ying Ma said in a statement that “Newsom is scared. He cannot defend his horrific record on crime, homelessness, rising cost of living, water scarcity, runaway wildfires and tyrannical COVID lockdowns. “
Meanwhile, two powerful California Republicans on Friday urged members of the state’s GOP to withhold their approval in the next election. The California Republican Party has argued over whether to anoint a single candidate with its seal of approval from the large number of candidates.
In an email obtained by The Associated Press dated Friday, Republican National Committee members Harmeet Dhillon and Shawn Steel urged party delegates not to support a candidate at a meeting scheduled for Saturday.
Along with a wide range of GOP rivals, they said in the email that the party shouldn’t risk discouraging voters whose preferred candidates might be snubbed.
“Polls show that the recall is on a statistical par and we cannot afford to discourage voters who are passionate about a particular candidate, but who might not vote because their preferred candidate has not received approval,” they wrote.
The email added, “Any of our GOP candidates would be superior to Gavin Newsom. We believe voters should decide on his replacement, which will not only ensure a higher turnout for supporters of the removal, but give Newsom’s successor the best chance of being re-elected in 2022. “
Dhillon and Steel’s statement represents a turnaround as they previously backed an amendment to the party’s statutes that paved the way for eventual approval. They wrote in the email that the status change was proposed months before anyone knew how many Republicans would qualify for the ballot.
About 1,400 delegates were preparing for a potentially controversial virtual meeting on Saturday on the approval. Four candidates qualified: Elder, Faulconer, State Assembly Member Kevin Kiley and former Congressman Doug Ose.
There will be 46 replacement candidates in the September 14 poll, including 24 Republicans.
Earlier, Tory Cox accused party insiders of trying to steer approval towards Faulconer, a centrist. Cox, protesting what he saw as a rigged process, said he would not seek approval.
Cox applauded Dhillon and Steel for the overthrow, saying the approval threatened to divide Republicans while chasing independents and other potential supporters of the “when we need everyone” recall.
“A Republican endorsement would just send the message that somehow we agree with Newsom that this is some kind of partisan effort. It’s not, ”Cox said in an interview.
In the recall election, voters will be asked two questions: First, should Newsom be removed, yes or no? The second question will be a list of alternate candidates to choose from. If a majority votes for Newsom’s impeachment, the candidate with the most votes on the second question becomes governor.
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Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed.
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