A recall effort against California governor Gavin Newsom (D) gained enough signatures to trigger a special election, according to the latest count by the Secretary of State's office, which says 1,626,042 submitted signatures have been verified - surpassing the 1.495 million signatures required. According to KTLA, California voters will face two questions; "Should Newsom be recalled and who should replace him?" If there aren't enough votes on the first question, votes on the second question will be discarded.
Among the most prominent Republicans running to replace Newsom are former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, who has never run for elected office. Businessman John Cox, who lost badly to Newsom in 2018, and former Congressman Doug Ose, also are running.
In 2003, voters recalled Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s the only other recall of a California governor to qualify for the ballot. -KTLA
"The People of California have done what the politicians thought would be impossible. This recall movement to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office has reached yet another milestone," said Orrin Heatlie, Lead Proponent of the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign and founder of the California Patriot Coalition.
According to the petition, grounds for the recall are as follows: "Governor Newsom has implemented laws which are detrimental to the citizens of this state and our way of life. Laws he endorsed favor foreign nationals, in our country illegally, over that of our own citizens. People in this state suffer the highest taxes in the nation, the highest homelessness rates, and the lowest quality of life as a result. He has imposed sanctuary state status and fails to enforce immigration laws. He unilaterally over-ruled the will of the people regarding the death penalty. He seeks to impose additional burdens on our state by the following; removing the protections of Proposition 13, rationing our water use, increasing taxes and restricting parental rights."
Newsom, who's into "double masking," is also a giant hypocrite - breaking his own lockdown edict last November by dining with medical industry lobbyists at an opulent dinner at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California, while small business owners across the state died on the vine from stater and local lockdown policies. Newsom's pandemic restrictions have notably been struck down by multiple judges for lack of legal or scientific justification - while several California sheriffs from major counties also publicly announced that they wouldn't be 'blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle' to enforce Newsom's 'dictatorial' lockdowns.
According to Newsom, and in spite of the above, responded to the recall as an effort by the 'extreme right wing' to take power, saying "This is a Republican effort...this is a Donald Trump effort."