Biden Arrives In CA To Campaign With Newsom, Address Wildfires

LONG BEACH, CA — Air Force One was expected to touch town in Long Beach on Monday night as President Joe Biden makes a pit stop on his tour through the Western U.S. to join Gov. Gavin Newsom for one last rally against a gubernatorial recall election that will decide the first-term governor's fate this week.

The president also planned to garner support for his $3.5 trillion infrastructure plan, assess the damage of wildfires and talk with fire agencies about the urgency to address climate change on his two-day Western tour.

Biden first arrived in Boise, Idaho, on Monday to visit the National Interagency Fire Center, where he issued a desperate plea to tackle climate change.

"The reality is we have a global warming problem, a serious global warming problem, and it's consequential, and what's going to happen is, things are not going to go back," Biden said, noting that wildfires have scorched 5.4 million acres this year.

"That's larger than the entire state of New Jersey," he said.

Biden was also scheduled to stop in the Golden State and Denver on Tuesday. He aimed to link the increasing frequency of wildfires, drought, floods and other extreme weather events to what he and scientists have said is a need to invest billions to combat climate change, along with vastly expanding the nation's social safety net.

SEE ALSO: CA Recall Voting Guide: How To Vote, Candidate Profiles & More

Biden arrived in Mather just after 2 p.m. Monday, where he was expected to join Newsom at a briefing with local, state and federal emergency response officials on the state of wildfires in California, according to multiple reports.

Biden was then expected to take an aerial tour of communities devastated by the 220,000-acre Caldor fire, burning in El Dorado County. The fire was 67 percent contained ahead of the president's visit.

At 4:25 p.m., the president was set to deliver remarks at Sacramento Mather Airport on his administration's response to wildfires, talk about his infrastructure deal and tout the Build Back Better agenda.

At 6:15 p.m., Biden was scheduled to arrive in Long Beach to participate in a rally with Newsom. It will be the president's first visit to the city and to California since taking office.

"Long Beach is ready and is looking forward to welcoming Air Force One at the [Long Beach Airport]," Mayor Robert Garcia tweeted Monday afternoon.

Campaign efforts for both Newsom and his opponents ramped up in recent days. Last week, the Democratic governor also campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris in San Leandro.

Arguably Newsom's only real competitor, conservative talk show host Larry Elder decried the federal support for Newsom.

"If Gavin Newsom thinks that flying in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris — not exactly the most admired government officials at the present time — will make him look better, that's all you need to know about how oblivious and detached Newsom is from a large majority of Californians," Elder said.

Nearly 8 million Californians already have cast mail-in ballots ahead of election day. Republicans tend to be more skeptical of mail voting, particularly as former President Donald Trump has suggested it leads to fraud, so recall organizers are hoping Newsom's critics show up in huge numbers for in-person election day voting.

This week, Elder launched a "Fight California Election Fraud" website, just days before the votes would be counted in the state. A link on his campaign website takes voters to a form where they can sign a petition to investigate the "twisted" results of the gubernatorial election before votes were officially cast. The website also invites users to report incidents of voter fraud.

READ MORE: Larry Elder Ignites Voter Fraud Initiative Ahead Of Election

Heading into the homestretch of the recall effort, recent polls showed a dramatic increase in approval for the governor. According to an averaging of major polls by FiveThirtyEight, 41.6 percent of likely voters want to recall Newsom, compared to 56.2 percent who want to keep him in office.

Just one month ago, polling had voters nearly evenly split on whether to recall the governor, but polls began skewing in his favor in August just as voters began casting ballots by mail.

A Berkeley IGS poll released Friday showed Newsom in even stronger position as the recall election winds up. The poll had 60 percent of likely voters preferring to keep Newsom in office and 38.5 percent wanting to recall him.

READ MORE: California Recall: Newsom Well Positioned As Elder Cries Foul

Newsom has pushed back against the effort to unseat him, arguing that the campaign was one backed by extremists, supporters of former President Donald Trump and those against the coronavirus vaccines.

"TOMORROW we can show the rest of the nation that we won't let Republicans drag our state backward," Newsom tweeted on Monday. "Make sure your voice is heard. VOTE NO."

The Associated Press and Patch Editor Paige Austin contributed to this report.

How To Vote In The Gubernatorial Recall Election

Every registered voter in California has already received a recall election ballot, and there are ballot drop boxes throughout each of California's 58 counties in which to deposit them. Please check your county or city website to find a ballot box near you. The state also allows voters to sign up to track a ballot throughout the process.

The deadline to register online for the election has passed, but Californians can still take advantage of same-day registration at a polling place or vote center.

Those who would like to vote in person or sign up for same-day voter registration can search on their county website for polling locations. Accessible voting locations are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day.

In-person voting locations will offer same-day voter registration, replacement ballots, accessible voting machines and language assistance for those who need it.

Check your voter registration status here.

Read more about California's gubernatorial recall election:

• California Recall Fueled By A Dinner, A Ruling On Same Day
• Larry Elder Ignites Voter Fraud Initiative Ahead Of Election
• California Recall: Where To Vote In Person
• Police Scramble To Find Larry Elder Egger
• Why The Recall Election Is Unlikely To Lead To California's First Female Governor
• Newsom Recall: The Power Of Polls
• Polling Error: How One Survey Changed The Newsom Recall Campaign
• Larry Elder Faces Claims Of Abuse, Financial Misrepresentation
• CA Recall: Newsom Lambasts Elder On Campaign Trail
• Lawsuit Argues California Recall Is Unconstitutional
• California Republicans Skip Recall Candidate Endorsement
• Inside Larry Elder's Focus On Race
• A Serious Man: Can Kevin Faulconer Run For Governor Without The Gimmicks?
• Follow The Money: Gavin Newsom Recall Edition
• Total Recall: An Illustrated Guide To The Newsom Recall