Newsom Recall Moves Forward

The California Secretary of State has confirmed that election officials have verified 1.63 million signatures on the petition to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. Just under 1.5 million verified signatures were needed. Newsom, a Democrat, has said he is prepared for a recall election. “We will fight it, we will defeat it,” he said.

Voters who signed the recall petition have 30 business days from April 26 to decide whether to withdraw their names. State administrative and legislative leaders also have additional time to draw up cost estimates for a recall election and set a date, most likely sometime in the fall. Voters will be asked two questions in the recall election: whether Newsom should be recalled and, if a majority agree, who should succeed him.

At this point perhaps the best known Republican to enter the race is transgender-rights activist and Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, although she has never run for public office before. John Cox, a Republican who lost to Mr. Newsom in 2018, said he would run against the governor as has former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. Faulconer is one of the few high-profile Republicans who have won an election in California in the past decade.