California GOP nixes endorsement fight in Newsom recall – KIRO 7 News Seattle

LOS ANGELES – (AP) – The California Republican Party voted overwhelmingly on Saturday not to support any candidate in the impending dismissal who could remove Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom from office, and is avoiding a potentially nasty battle for a GOP -Favorites that threatened to divide Republicans and depress turnout in the nationally watched race.

The unilateral vote to skip an endorsement – supported by about 90% of delegates attending a virtual party meeting – reflected concerns that an internal feud between candidates and their supporters would split the ranks of the party and piss off Republicans who would not bother to vote if their election candidate was snubbed.

There are 24 Republicans on the recall vote, with leading candidates including talk radio host Larry Elder, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox, state lawmaker Kevin Kiley, former Olympian and reality TV personality Caitlyn Jenner and former Congressman Doug Ose.

Two of the state party’s most powerful figures – Republican National Committee members Harmeet Dhillon and Shawn Steel – previously helped set the stage for an approval vote. But they reversed course on Friday and urged delegates to avoid it.

“The polls show that the recall is statistically undecided and we cannot afford to discourage voters who are enthusiastic about a particular candidate but may not vote because their preferred candidate has not received approval,” they warned in an email received from The Associated Press.

On re-election, voters will be asked two questions: First, should Newsom be removed, yes or no? The second question is a list of substitute candidates to choose from. If a majority votes in favor of removing Newsom, the candidate with the most votes on the second question becomes governor.

Republicans feared the aftermath of an endorsement battle could weaken support for the critical first question on the ballot – whether or not Newsom should be removed. If this vote does not reach a majority, the results of the second question are irrelevant and the governor retains his office.

The party’s decision was not without risk. Republican voter registration in the heavily democratic state is a pathetic 24%. Some party leaders believed that the best way to win the September 14 elections was to concentrate the GOP’s money and volunteers behind a single candidate.

Some will see the decision as a setback for Faulconer, who was seen as an early confirmation favorite. Faulconer had looked for the nod, but his campaign later changed gears, saying he no longer believed it was in the party’s interests to endorse a single candidate.

Cox, a Conservative formerly indicted party insider, attempted to steer approval of Faulconer, a political centrist elected in Democratic San Diego who some saw as a more viable statewide candidate in heavily Democratic California. In protest of what he viewed as rigged trial, Cox said he would not seek approval.

In a statement on Saturday, Cox praised the delegates’ decision, adding that “the Republican Party must be united to recall Gavin Newsom. Nothing is more important. “

Kiley said in a statement that “all candidates are on the same team as we argue that California deserves so much better than Gavin Newsom”.

Newsom, meanwhile, has stepped up its campaigning with polls showing the race could go either way as coronavirus cases rise again and populous areas of the state bring back mask rules that many have hated.

The recall arose out of widespread frustration in the depths of the pandemic over stay-at-home orders, the wrecking of job losses from shop closings, and long-standing school closings that together turned the lives of millions of Californians upside down.

Republican candidates have portrayed Newsom as an incompetent fop whose botched leadership caused unnecessary financial pain during the pandemic. The Democrats have tried to shape the competition in such a way that it is powered by right-wing extremists and supporters of former President Donald Trump.

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