Supporters of an effort to recall Governor 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 vote this year, or in 2022, if not. In an interview with The Times, the Republican attacked the way Newsom deals with 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,” said Faulconer. “This campaign will aim to restore balance and common sense in California, get people back to work, take our kids back to school and make people proud of our state again.”
Proponents of the recall are expected to send 1.5 million verified signatures by mid-March. If the measure passes, voters will ask 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 would be among Democrat Newsom’s most prominent opponents. He said he has already raised or received $ 1 million pledges.
Another Republican who said he will run for a revocation election is businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom in the 2018 governor race.
Right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich, who is registered as an independent voter, also said he plans to enter the race.
Faulconer, 54, served as 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 considered one of the few Republicans in California with a chance to win a job. highest in a state that last elected a Republican to a state post in 2006.
He complicated his offer by changing his mind about former President Trump. In 2016, he said he could never support the then-nominated GOP because “his divisive rhetoric is unacceptable”. But he said last month that he voted for Trump in 2020 because he thought the president was best suited to restore an economy devastated by the pandemic.
Trump is deeply unpopular in California and lost his state in November by 29 percentage points to Joe Biden.
Faulconer avoided questions about his support for Trump, arguing repeatedly that his campaign will focus on California, not Washington, DC He did not respond directly when asked whether the former president had any responsibility for the January 6 uprising on the U.S. Capitol.
Faulconer objected when asked how his promise to follow science when it comes to COVID-19 squares with The way Trump handled the pandemic, how to suggest injecting a disinfectant and his reluctance to wear masks.
“The former president is out of office and I think it is absolutely time to focus on California issues,” said Faulconer. “This is going to be a campaign that looks forward.”
Cox and Cernovich also supported Trump previously, a point that the Newsom campaign will use against them if the recall qualifies.
“All of these Trump supporters are going to fight each other … but for now we need them to stop urging people to close our mass vaccination sites, as they tried to do at Dodger Stadium over the weekend,” said the spokesman. Dan Newman.
Cox said he is running because Newsom has failed to lead.
“The state is in crisis,” Cox told Fox 40 in Sacramento, in a segment that aired over the weekend. He said that housing problems and homelessness worsened during the Newsom administration, and pointed out how the governor handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The last straw for me is failure in terms of vaccine delivery,” said Cox. “This is unfair. It is just one in a series of mismanagement cases that politicians led by Gavin Newsom visited us, and that has to change. And I’m not just sitting and watching this. 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, defends false conspiracy theories, like a chain of pedophiles being thrown out of a pizzeria in Washington, DC He said he has no illusions that he could win. He said he wants to pressure Newsom into a debate over pandemic blockades, which he compared to war crimes and human rights violations.
“There is no chance in hell that I win in California. Zero percent, ”Cernovich said in a 20-minute online video full of conspiracy, adding that if he“ gets a sufficient support base, then I can force ”Newsom to account for the closings.