CA Recall: See Who's Leading The Race

CALIFORNIA — Forty-six candidates will appear on gubernatorial recall ballots mailed to Californians all over the Golden State next month — but few of them have generated much excitement among voters on either side of the political divide.

A staggering 40 percent of likely voters were undecided on who should replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a recent poll from UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies.

That's why the California Republican Party on Saturday agreed on a last-minute decision not to endorse any one candidate over the weekend. After all, Republicans and opponents of Newsom will only need half of voters to check "yes" on the ballot to oust him from office. Then, the candidate with the largest share of votes would win his seat.

"Any of our GOP candidates would be superior to Gavin Newsom," Harmeet Dhillon and Shawn Steel, two prominent California GOP delegates, wrote in an email to the state party last week. "We believe that the voters should decide his replacement, which will not only ensure a higher turnout of recall proponents but give Newsom's successor the best chance of reelection in 2022."

The motion was halted to avert the risk of further division in an election that's been characterized by sporadic support for a smattering of candidates on the right.

"The polls are showing that the recall is in a statistical tie and we cannot afford to discourage voters who are passionate about a particular candidate, yet may not vote because their favored candidate didn’t receive the endorsement," Dhillon and Stell wrote.

On the left, voter interest has been sparse, which could rattle Newsom's stability in power, according to recent polls. One of the main findings of UC Berkeley's poll was that voter turnout among Republicans was predicted to be much higher than Democrats and voters without a party preference.

And while there are a handful of Republican hopefuls that have energized voters and gained traction recently, most Democrats are still standing solely behind Newsom, despite a few lesser-known Democrats that will appear on the ballot.

Rusty Hicks, chairperson for the state Democratic Party, has urged voters to leave question two — where Californians will be asked who should replace Newsom — blank.

Leaving that question blank, "saves your self-respect from casting your vote for a candidate who isn’t worthy of your support - or the support of California voters," he tweeted over the weekend.

Here are the six candidates leading the race to recall Newsom on Sept. 14.

1. Larry Elder

Talk show host Larry Elder may have entered the game a bit later than other recall hopefuls, but he has catapulted to the top of the GOP candidate list in terms of voter popularity. He also fortified his ascendance by raising a strong $4.5 million for his campaign in just 19 days, government records showed.

While this amount pales in comparison to Newsom's $46 million, the rapid collection still outpaces fundraising efforts attempted by his competitors.

In addition to raising buckets of funding, he also happens to be well-liked among conservative voters and long before he declared his candidacy for governor. Two polls conducted within the last few weeks showed that Elder was pulling ahead of his rival candidates.

The July 27 poll from UC Berkeley revealed that Elder was leading the race among likely voters, receiving 18 percent of the vote in that survey. In another poll, conducted by Survey USA and the San Diego Union Tribune, Elder received 23 percent in support, topping another list.

Elder was among the four high-profile candidates up for an endorsement from the state GOP on Saturday before delegates voted to halt the process.

On Friday, Newsom told reporters in San Bernardino County that Elder "believes the minimum wage should be zero ... believes women do not have the right to choose and wants to overturn Roe v. Wade ... believes we need more offshore oil drilling and fracking" in the state.

2. Kevin Faulconer

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who participated in last week's televised gubernatorial debate, has been identified as the more moderate choice among the other Republican candidates.

He's also right on Elder's heels in terms of how much money he's collected for his campaign: $4 million. Those funds came from a trio of committees linked to the recall for runs for governor in 2021 and 2022.

Faulconer is also more of a traditional politician compared to many of his gimmick-using recall rivals.

Last week's poll from Survey USA showed Faulconer pulling in behind Elder, John Cox and Democratic YouTube star Kevin Parrath, with 5 percent of the vote from respondents in the survey.

3. John Cox

Businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom by a landslide, has generated a fair amount of buzz this election season. So far, he's dubbed himself "the beast," campaigned with a live bear and raised $418,000 in campaign funds through the end of July.

Cox, who was not among those identified as a candidate worth backing by the state GOP, decried the idea of edorsement and accused the state party of trying to sway voters toward party favorite, Faulconer — that is, before Elder came along.

"Changing the rules at this point is a slap in the face to the grassroots activists who made this recall happen," Cox tweeted.

Cox was one of four candidates who participated in the first televised gubernatorial debate of the season last week.

Survey USA's survey last week showed that Cox was pulling in behind Elder with 10 percent of the vote.

4. Doug Ose

Doug Ose is one of just three candidates with any kind of political background, serving as a Republican congressman representing a slice of Sacramento from 1999 to 2005. Ose reported raising $418,000 through the end of July through two committees that can finance runs for governor is 2021 and 2022.

But outpacing his political tenure is his decades of experience as a business owner in California's agricultural industry, which he says will elevate him as a contender for the governor's post.

"My sisters and I grow 1,000 acres of rice," he said in an interview with Patch. "So I understand water. I understand ag markets, and I understand the value of the dollar and currency exchange and who's using the rice that comes off my fields. ... If I'm going to be involved, I'm going to know it soup to nuts — that's what I do."

Ose received just 4 percent support in last week's Survey USA poll, but still pulled in more votes than Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner.

5. Kevin Kiley

Assemblyman Kevin Kiley may be one of Newsom's loudest critics on social media, receiving hundreds of retweets and likes for his jabs at the progressive governor. He's also the youngest among the most prominent Republican recall candidates, at 32.

Kiley raised $834,000 in total contributions through July, but that included a $262,000 transfer from a separate committee that had been banking money for his 2022 Assembly race, according to his recall committee.

"Gavin Newsom isn't being recalled because's he's a liberal," Kiley tweeted previously. "He's being recalled because he's a phony. He mouths 'progressive' platitudes while selling his office to the highest bidder."

In UC Berkeley's most recent poll, he received 5 percent of the vote among likely voters, but in last week's poll from Survey USA he received 3 percent of the vote among respondents.

6. Caitlyn Jenner

Former Olympic athlete turned reality television star Caitlyn Jenner is arguably Newsom's most famous contender due to her celebrity status. And while she came in strong with a few heavily funded campaign videos months ago, she has since dropped out of sight to film a reality show in Australia this month.

Jenner reported raising nearly $750,000 through the end of July, ending up with about $22,000 on hand after expenses. However, the campaign was carrying over $150,000 in debt.

In both Survey USA's Aug. 4 poll and UC Berkely's July 27 poll, she was trailing all other candidates with 3-4 percent of support from respondents in both surveys.

Bonus: Kevin Paffrath

Last week's poll from Survey USA revealed a surprising finding: respondents identified Democratic YouTube star Kevin Paffrath as the top contender for Newsom's seat, receiving 27 percent of the vote while Elder, who has been leading other recent polls, snagged 23 percent of the vote.

He recently offered a $1 million charity donation if Newsom would agree to debate him.

What's A Recall?

California has had recall elections as part of its political system since 1911. The process allows the public to attempt to remove an elected public official from office before the end of his or her term. Before a recall election can be initiated, a certain number of voters must sign a recall petition within a specified amount of time.

The state has had 54 previous attempts to recall California governors. Only one governor was recalled in California's history: Gray Davis in 2003.

READ MORE:

• Newsom Recall Election Date Set
• California Republicans Skip Recall Candidate Endorsement
• CA Recall: Newsom, Elder To Skip First Election Debate
• CA Recall Election: Who Is Running?
• Newsom Recall Election Officially Happening: What To Know
• A Serious Man: Can Kevin Faulconer Run For Governor Without The Gimmicks?
• CA Democrats Propose $215M To Expedite Newsom Recall Election
• Follow The Money: Gavin Newsom Recall Edition
• Total Recall: An Illustrated Guide To The Newsom Recall

The Associated Press contributed to this report.