Kiley Enters Race To Replace Newsom

Kevin Kiley, a Republican assembly member who represents Rocklin, yesterday announced he has entered the recall election that will take place September 14 seeking to replace Governor Gavin Newsom. Kiley, an attorney who graduated from Harvard and Yale Law School, has been an outspoken critic of Newsom’s Covid-19 pandemic response.

Kiley and another Republican assemblyman sued Newsom last year for mandating that all Californians receive mail-in ballots for the November 3 general election. A judge agreed Newsom had overstepped his authority although the decision did not affect the 2020 vote. Kiley published an anti-Newsom book earlier this year that argues the case for his recall. In his announcement that he was entering the race, Kiley cited an endorsement letter from recall campaign organizer Orrin Heatlie who encouraged him to run calling Kiley “the one candidate we can all get behind.”

A recall ballot contains two questions: Should Newsom be recalled, and if the answer is yes, then who should replace him? If more than 50 percent of voters say “yes” to the first question, then the person who gets the most votes on the second question wins even if they have less than a majority. That’s because there is no limit on how many people can run in the recall. Reportedly some 55 people have filed a statement of intention to run. These include Kevin Faulconer, former mayor of San Diego, and reality TV personality Caitlyn Jenner who won the men’s Olympic decathlon in 1976 before transitioning to a woman.

Candidates have until July 16 to finalize their decision to run in the recall. Beginning on August 16 ballots will be mailed to voters. Ballots may be returned by mail but options for returning it in person will vary by county.