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But as some of the top contenders vying to replace Newsom gathered for a debate in Sacramento on Wednesday night – where they described him as ill-equipped to handle the state’s many crises – there are warning signs that the Grassroots Democrats are wasting no time returning their mail-in ballots in their effort to stop the recall.
Four of the most prominent candidates to replace Newsom sharply criticized his record in the debate sponsored by KCRA 3 and the San Francisco Chronicle. Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, the top GOP candidate in recent polls, declined to participate, but several candidates still shot him in his absence.
“This is our government’s failure to do the most basic things like manage our forests, and the result, of course, is that communities are in danger, and we continue to have these catastrophic events,” he said. Kiley said. “Everything continued to get worse. The quality of life in California continued to decline. This is the story of modern California as embodied by Gavin Newsom – that we sacrifice the most and get the least in return. “
With most of the shooting at Newsom, Faulconer launched a fierce attack on Elder, blaming the radio host for his past comments about women. He alluded to Elder’s endorsement of pregnancy-related discrimination in his books, which was first reported by Media Matters, and his claim that women exaggerate sexism, one of many. controversial remarks from the past that were reported by CNN’s KFile last week.
“His attack on women workers is unreasonable,” Faulconer said of Elder. The former mayor of San Diego then spoke directly to working mothers: “I will support your right to raise a family, to have a career. Contrary to what Larry Elder is talking about, I’m going to make sure the California daughters have the same opportunities as the California sons. We need a governor who will stand up for working women and who knows that every woman in this state can have a career, can raise a family. “
Paffrath, who was the only Democrat on stage Wednesday night, also slammed Elder for calling him a “threat” to Californians and accusing him of paling “with his disinformation friends” on Fox News instead of joining the debate. He urged his Democrats to view him as a replacement candidate, even though Newsom and Democratic Party leaders urged their party voters to simply vote ‘no’ on the governor’s recall and return their ballots without answer the second question.
Paffrath, in his debut in the debate, and Faulconer discussed their respective levels of experience during an exchange on the steps they would take to build more affordable housing in California.
“Now is not the time for on-the-job training, for YouTube, someone who never had to pass legislation, had to have the units built and built,” Faulconer told Paffrath . “I think that’s a clear difference between you and me, my friend. And that’s why it’s important that we elect a governor who can really hit the ground from day one, who succeeds in working with the Democrats and the Republicans to get housing until the end like we did in San Diego. “
Paffrath defended his experience and described himself as a “JFK Democrat who can work with our Democratic Legislature.”
“I have 11 years of work in real estate, and my experience does not include my city scam,” said Paffrath, alluding to the controversy over several building acquisitions in San Diego while Faulconer was mayor – the subject of a recent audit by the San Diego Municipal Auditor. “A vote for any Republican, including those who are not here, is a wasted vote,” Paffrath added.
Paffrath also injected new energy into the forum with his offbeat ideas, including building an interstate pipeline to the Mississippi to help resolve the water crisis in California.
All three Republican candidates argued that Newsom’s Covid-19 restrictions were too severe. Cox called Newsom’s handling of Covid-19 a disaster.
“This state is a mismanaged mess,” Cox said. “His handling of the pandemic has been an inconsistent disaster … We have no water. We live in fear of fires. Crime is on the rise. House prices are out of sight. Taxes are out of sight. . The homeless problem has only gotten worse … We have to stop with these politicians and celebrities and bring in a businessman. “
While arguing that local school districts should make decisions on mask mandates by talking to parents, Faulconer argued that Newsom has been too quick to create statewide mandates and regulations.
“Our state is very big, it’s very diverse. It’s a bad approach,” Faulconer said. “Our schools should have been open last semester… My daughter should have been in school last semester, just like the other kids in California – in the classroom, learning safely with great teachers. was not a substitute. We had a governor who did not understand this and we are still facing these consequences now. ”
Early returns look promising for Democrats
At a time when 22 million ballots have already been sent to Golden State voters, Democrats and labor groups are engaged in an intensive campaign to convince their voters to participate after poll after poll showed Republican voters are more engaged and motivated than Democrats in the run-up to the September 14 elections.
The intense campaign to canvass Democrats and allied groups to counter the disengagement of Democratic voters will be boosted by the White House on Friday when Vice President Kamala Harris, former U.S. Senator from California, rallies voters with Newsom in the region of the United States. bay. The White House also announced Wednesday that President Joe Biden will campaign for Newsom in California on an unspecified date.
In raw numbers, Democrats have a clear advantage in a state where they outnumber Republicans almost twice as numerous. But many longtime California strategists say it’s hard to predict what the voter turnout universe will look like in an off-year election in September where every registered voter in the state will receive a ballot.
Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc. – a company that works for Democratic candidates, progressive organizations and non-partisan campaigns – said he saw “huge early numbers for Democrats” as his company follows the ballots in progress. returned in real time.
But he noted that there are many caveats at this early stage. Democrats got used to postal voting in 2020, while Republicans preferred to vote later in person, in part because of the mistrust engendered by former President Donald Trump with his many false claims about ballot security. postal vote.
Mitchell also noted that many of the first returning ballots came from two huge Democratic strongholds in the Golden State that sent their ballots to voters earlier than many other counties: San Francisco and Los Angeles counties.
Still Mitchell and several other Democratic strategists said the very early trends in voting returns looked promising for Democrats looking to defeat the recall. Tracking of returned ballots by Political Data Inc. on Wednesday showed that of the 1.5 million returned so far, 57% of them were Democratic ballots, while only 21% were ballots. GOP vote.
“As in this Tour de France cycling metaphor, Democrats are on this great breakaway,” Mitchell said in an interview. “They have a big lead, but this race is going to go on for another three weeks, and the Republicans could certainly catch up.”
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