OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a brutal recall election and is closer than ever to being removed from his seat.
Now, he’s calling in a big favor for Kamala Harris.
Harris intends to leave Washington, D.C., to campaign for Newsom as he’s currently in arguably the biggest fight of his political life.
“I am excited to join my friend and our Vice President next week,” Newsom said in a statement. “The stakes of this election couldn’t be higher.”
“The former California Senator, attorney general, San Francisco district attorney and longtime ally of Newsom answered a question from The Chronicle in the affirmative as she was leaving the Capitol, turning back to ensure her ‘yes’ was audible,” Politico reported.
Politico added:
A visit by Harris could also help rally California Democrats to fill out their ballots, particularly the critical Democratic voting bloc of women of color. While Harris’ poll numbers have slipped in recent months, she retains deep support in the Bay Area, where she launched her political career as a prosecutor.
With millions of mail ballots now in voters’ hands, Newsom’s campaign has shifted to a turn-out-the-vote strategy that seeks to galvanize Democrats in the face of soaring Republican enthusiasm. Voters have weeks to fill out and return their ballots through a Sept. 14 election date.
A CBS News/YouGov poll revealed that 48% of likely California voters favor a recall of Newsom and 52% are opposed to his removal.
The poll also found that conservative talk radio host Larry Elder leads the 46-candidate field of contenders to replace Newsom, with 23% of the vote.
The way it will work is if Californians vote to recall Newsom, then they will vote on his replacement.
If current polls and trends hold, that would mean Elder becomes the next Governor of California, assuming Newsom is recalled.
CBS News reported that turnout will be critical, as Republicans are far more motivated to vote in the recall election than Democrats are:
Newsom’s political fate would clearly be in better shape if all registered voters turned out next month. But as of now, they don’t all plan to vote. In fact, it’s members of his own Democratic Party who are currently less motivated than Republicans to vote, setting up a high-stakes turnout and motivation contest for Newsom and the Democrats over the next month.
Even looking at it by 2020 presidential vote, those who voted for former President Donald Trump are more apt to say they’re “very motivated” to vote in this recall — by almost 20 points — than are those who backed President Biden.
Last month, Newsom got slapped with more bad news in his fight against a recall effort.
Judge James P. Arguelles ruled that Newsom will not be able to label himself a “Democrat” on the recall ballot this September after his team made a filing error and omitted his party preference.
In other words, Newsom’s team forgot to state on the paperwork that he wanted to be listed as a Democrat.
Newsom’s team sued the California Secretary of State so that he could correct the error.
Arguelles denied Newsom’s request and held that the recall election will take place on September 14, 2021.
Newsom has imposed some of the most drastic restrictions in the entire nation in terms of lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and restrictions on businesses, all of which have done little to mitigate the spread of the virus in the Golden State.
