CA Recall: Who's Officially Running To Unseat Newsom?

CALIFORNIA — California on Saturday published a finalized list of the 41 candidates who will officially appear on Gov. Gavin Newsom's recall election ballot in September.

The number of candidates pales in comparison to the state's last gubernatorial recall election in 2003 when more than 100 candidates qualified to run against the governor.

The weekend's official list includes 21 Republicans, one Libertarian and eight Democrats — though none of the Democratic candidates are prominent or widely known. While most of the list is comprised of Republican challengers, a handful of other eclectic characters were officiated, including Billboard model Angelyne, 70, Mary Carey, a retired adult film star and Paffrath, 29, who gives financial advice to his 1.7 million YouTube subscribers.

A core group of Republican hopefuls, who all unofficially announced plans to run in the election to unseat the Democratic governor months ago, appeared on the official list, including businessman John Cox, former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, pastor Sam Gallucci, former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner and former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose.

Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, one of Newsom's most outspoken critics, also appeared on the final list Saturday after announcing plans to run earlier this month.

Recently, Kiley was especially vocal about Newsom's lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber over a paperwork blunder that will leave the governor's name on the ballot without a party designation.

"Crazily, Newsom's team messed up the paperwork so he won't appear as a Democrat on the Recall ballot. He's now suing his handpicked Secretary of State to reclaim his cherished partisan label," Kiley tweeted on June 28, a post that was retweeted more than 4,400 times.

And while Jenner, Newsom's most famous challenger, appeared on the final list, she reportedly flew to Austrialia this week, where she plans to stay for weeks to film a reality TV show, despite the nearing September election date.

The list also spurred confusion after conservative talk radio host Larry Elder said that he was left off of the list. Secretary of State spokeswoman Jenna Dresner said all candidates who didn't qualify were given a reason why, but a spokesperson for Elder's campaign said they were not notified.

Elder announced plans to run July 12 and instantly became one of the most notable Republican hopefuls to enter the race. He has spent years making radio and Fox News television appearances and was viewed as a candidate who could motivate Republican voters.

"We submitted every document required by the Secretary of State and the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters on Friday," Elder tweeted Saturday. "I fully expect to be on the final certified list of candidates."

The issue was left unsettled Sunday and it is unclear why Elder was left off of the official list of Newsom challengers.

Faulconor was also in the midst of a dispute with the California Secretary of State's office over whether he would be listed as San Diego's "retired" mayor.

Jack Pitney, a professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College, told the Associated Press that Republicans are unlikely to stay home if Elder or another popular Republican candidate didn't appear on the list.

"I think Republicans are going to show up because they hate Newsom, not because they are particular fans of any of the replacement candidates," Pitney said.

Newsom has pushed back against the effort to oust him from office, painting the campaign as one backed by extremists and supporters of former President Donald Trump.

"I won't be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it," Newsom said in mid-March. "There is too much at stake."

Earlier this month Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis set the recall date for Sept. 14. The state finance department also released its final estimate this month for state and county costs to run the election: $276 million.

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 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 has been recalled in California's history: Gray Davis in 2003.

Here's a list of candidates who have filed the required paperwork to join the recall election, according to the secretary of state's office:

Paffrath, 29, who gives financial advice to his 1.7 million YouTube subscribers. The Democrat says his lack of “political baggage” is a good thing. His proposals include building underground tunnels for new roadways and cutting income taxes.

- Angelyne, the only one-name candidate running on the ballot, is an entertainer who gained fame in Los Angeles in the 1980s by buying billboard space to advertise her name and image. She's listed as “no party preference" and her platform includes an annual masquerade ball where citizens dress up like the governor, an official Bubble Bath Day, and “rehab for politicians."

- Jeff Hewitt, 68, is a Riverside County supervisor. He wrote in The Orange County Register that he was entering the race because “this state no longer accommodates dreams, fosters ideas or solves problems.” He argues the state needs a new approach and is running as a Libertarian.

- Joel Ventresca, 69, is a Democrat though says he's further to the left than Newsom, whom he called a "corporate, establishment, insider Democrat." Ventresca's main campaign platform is providing free health care and education "cradle to grave" for everyone in California. He retired in 2018 from the San Francisco International Airport, where he held multiple roles.

- Sam Gallucci, 60, a Republican, is a former technology executive who is senior pastor at Embrace! Church in Oxnard, California. He also runs services that provide assistance for at-risk women and children and migrants. In his tech career, he rose through the corporate ranks to become an executive vice president and general manager for software maker PeopleSoft, which Oracle acquired for $10.3 billion in 2004.

- Caitlyn Jenner, 71, is a lifelong Republican trying to parlay her celebrity into a surprise win. She won the men's decathlon gold medal at the 1976 Olympics, married into the Kardashian family and with them became reality TV stars, and came out as transgender in 2015. She has described herself as a fiscal conservative who is liberal on social issues. But she's proven gaffe-prone in interviews and hasn't released any significant policy proposals.

- John Cox, 66, was the Republican nominee for governor in 2018 and lost to Newsom in a landslide. This time around the multimillionaire businessman has displayed a showman's instincts, campaigning with both a Kodiak bear and a giant ball of trash. He's long sought public office. He's sought numerous political offices including U.S. House and Senate as well as president.

- Doug Ose, 66, is a multimillionaire businessman and former Republican congressman who represented a Sacramento-area district from 1999 to 2005. Ose says he's ready to work across party lines to reopen schools and get the economy back at full strength. He calls Sacramento broken, pointing to the homeless crisis, climbing gas taxes and increasing crime rates. He briefly ran for governor in 2018.

- Jacqueline McGowan, 46, a Democrat, is a former stockbroker turned cannabis policy reform advocate. She's running to bring attention to what she calls a crisis in the legal cannabis market, which has struggled to get on its feet amid heavy regulation and taxes while facing stiff competition from the thriving underground market. She would slash pot taxes and push communities that have not set up local markets to open the door for legal sales.

- Kevin Faulconer, 54, is a Republican who was twice elected mayor of Democratic-leaning San Diego and has long been seen as a potential statewide candidate, given his centrist credentials in strongly Democratic California. He's presented himself as a problem-solver and has touted his work keeping homeless encampments off streets while they spread unchecked in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

- Steve Chavez Lodge, 62, is a retired homicide detective and small business owner. He gained notoriety when he got engaged to reality TV personality Vicki Gunvalson, who appeared on the "Real Housewives of Orange County" for 15 years. The Republican says "California is completely broken" and is promising to "get government out of our lives ... and out of our wallets." He also has served on local government commissions.

- Kevin Kiley, 36, is a Republican state assemblyman from the Sacramento area who emerged as a favorite among GOP volunteers who gathered petition signatures for the recall. He built a reputation as a strong conservative and one of Newsom's most vocal critics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

READ MORE:

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• 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
• 36% Support Newsom Recall: UC Berkeley Poll