Politics

Gavin Newsom Faces Yet Another Recall Effort Amid Budget Woes

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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom could face another recall election in November if an effort to remove him gains enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot, Politico reported Monday.

Rescue California, the group leading the recall effort over the state’s budget deficit and the governor’s national political ambitions, will serve Newsom with the paperwork Monday morning, according to Politico. Some of the same conservative activists organized a similar recall effort in 2021, when Newsom overcame his former presidential candidate and radio host Larry Elder by roughly 30 points.

“Gavin Newsom has abandoned the state to advance his presidential ambitions, leaving behind a $73 billion budget deficit and a public safety, immigration and education crisis,” Orange County fundraiser Anne Dunsmore, who is the campaign director for Rescue California, told Politico.

Newsom has long been the subject of speculation regarding his presidential ambitions as concerns over President Joe Biden’s age and electability have mounted. The governor participated in a debate with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida when the latter was a presidential candidate in late November.

“California needs a full-time governor who is fully focused on the serious problems the state and its citizens are facing,” Dunsmore continued. “This may be our last opportunity to rescue and restore our state, while we highlight for the rest of the country the destruction Newsom has left in his wake.”

The recall organizers, whom Dunsmore told Politico comprise largely of over 400 Californians across the political spectrum, would need to garner enough signatures to equal 12% of the turnout from the previous gubernatorial election.

The effort has a May deadline to shore up the approximate 1.6 million signatures to get the initiative on the ballot in November, according to the outlet. If the effort fails to do so in time, it can still continue gathering signatures for an election at a later date.

“We are taking it seriously,” Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Politico. “These Trump Republicans are targeting Gov. Newsom because he is out there defending democracy and fighting for the reelection of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He’s not going to be distracted from that fight. Democracy’s on the ballot, and he’s going to keep fighting.”

The governor currently has a 46% approval rating among Californians, according to a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll conducted in early January.

Newsom’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.