Organizers of the recall campaign to oust California Gov. Gavin Newsom have gathered 1.2 million of the 1.5 million signatures required by March 17 to qualify for a statewide ballot, Fox News reported on Monday.
Rescue California, one of two major organizations heading the campaign, said they are determined to collect at least two million signatures, because in recall efforts like this many of the signatures turn out to be invalid.
California’s secretary of state said that in the current recall campaign 84% of the signatures obtained so far are valid, according to San Diego’s KUSI.
Increasing frustration at Newsom’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the economy has given Republicans a rare chance to mount a challenge against him after the Democrat won the governorship two years ago by nearly 24 percentage points and whose public approval rating was at 60% last year, Politico reported.
Newsom last month made matters worse for himself after attending a dinner party at an upscale restaurant at the same time he was discouraging Californians from gathering for the holidays.
John Cox, Newsom's Republican challenger in the last election for governor who recently launched an exploratory committee to run against him again in 2022, told Fox News that the recall campaign is “absolutely gaining traction. We're getting petitions from not only Republicans but from Democrats and Independents. This has just gone on too long — the mismanagement that has accompanied this pandemic."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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