- Vote no on the recall, ladies and gentlemen.
Our Governor, Gavin Newsom.
(crowd cheering)
- [Narrator] California Governor Gavin Newsom is at risk
of being voted out of office on Tuesday
in a rare special election.
- [Protestor] Recall.
- [Crowd] Newsom.
- Recall.
- [Crowd] Newsom.
- [Narrator] So how did a Democratic politician
who sailed to victory in a Blue state end up becoming
only the second governor in California history
to face a recall?
Newsom's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in California
has become the most prominent issue in the race.
- We have autonomy over our own body
to give ourself what we feel is the proper medical treatment
for our condition.
And if we don't want the vaccine,
we shouldn't have to take it.
- I think he's done a good job with COVID in response.
I'd like to see him continue his term.
- Depending on who you're asking,
Gavin Newsom either crippled the economy
and closed schools, and left kids to suffer
in virtual learning,
or he took the tough but necessary measures
to keep Californians safe.
And so that's kind of really a test in this election.
Who are you going to believe.
- [Narrator] Recall efforts are not uncommon in California.
In fact, every governor since 1960
has faced a petition for removal.
And for Newsom, this is one of six attempts
by Republican activists since he was elected in 2018.
But it's been very rare
for those recall attempts
to actually reach the ballot.
In order for a recall to be triggered,
the petition has to be signed
by enough verified signatures
to equal 12% of the votes cast
in the last gubernatorial election.
In the state's only other gubernatorial recall,
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger
replaced Democrat Gray Davis as governor in 2003.
So what has contributed to this latest recall effort?
The original petition was written shortly
before the pandemic hit,
and cites common complaints that conservatives
have about California:
High taxes, layers of regulation
and policies favorable to immigrants.
But Newsom's troubles grew
as the pandemic took hold
and many Californians became frustrated
by restrictions and mandates,
including policies that closed businesses,
schools and houses of worship.
Then last November, the recall effort gained steam.
On the 13th, as COVID-19 cases across the state began
to rise, state officials asked residents
to avoid gathering with people outside their households.
Four days later, news photos surfaced,
showing the governor dining maskless
with lobbyist friends at The French Laundry,
an exclusive Napa Valley restaurant.
By chance, earlier that day,
a Sacrament County judge gave recall petitioners
an extra four months to gather signatures,
citing closures due to the pandemic.
- It really encapsulated the anger that people had
over what they felt was his hypocrisy,
and his privilege,
this idea of rules for thee and not for me
was just this overarching theme
that really drove a lot of people's anger,
and caused them to sign this petition.
- [Narrator] Newsom has said that dinner
was an error in judgment.
Within weeks, the total number of signatures
on the petition to recall Newsom grew
from about 56,000 to nearly 500,000.
By April, the petition had collected
more than 1.7 million signatures
to qualify for the ballot.
- Before the recall officially qualified,
the campaign's strategy was really avoidance
and really not talking about the recall.
- [Narrator] This spring, as COVID-19 cases started
to level out, Newsom projected optimism.
- California has the lowest case rate
in the United States of America,
which is significant when you consider the size
and scale of our state, the density in this state.
- He really tried to telegraph
that the state was on the mend
and good times were coming.
That kind of all changed
when Larry Elder joined the race this summer.
- There are several big issues.
The biggest one is the rise of homelessness,
the rise in crime, the outrageous cost of living.
- [Narrator] A conservative radio host from Los Angeles,
Elder quickly became the top polling Republican
ahead of 45 other candidates on the ballot.
His platform includes increasing home construction
to reduce the state's high prices,
school vouchers and tougher anti-crime policies.
Elder has also criticized Newsom's COVID-19 restrictions
and has pledged to end vaccine and mask mandates.
- Right now, this government
has required every state worker
who's not been vaccinated to be tested once a week
and to wear a face mask at work.
When I become governor, one of the first things I'm gonna do
is to repeal that mandate.
- [Narrator] Even though polls project Newsom winning,
the race has turned out to be much closer
than experts initially expected,
prompting some of the most prominent people
in the Democratic party to campaign for him.
- Protect California by voting no on the Republican recall.
- [Narrator] The special election is local to Californians
but some experts argue the outcome
of the vote has broader significance.
- There's plenty of people who are disgruntled
about Newsom's COVID shutdowns,
about his mask mandates, about his vaccine mandates,
and this is really a test
as to whether people approve of those policies or not.
In terms of the national context,
this is really significant in terms of a peek into 2022
in terms of engaging voters,
in terms of whether or not COVID response
is a winning message for Democrats.