CA Recall: Democratic Party Stars Stump For Newsom

CALIFORNIA — If you live in California, you've likely come across an ad in recent days featuring former President Barack Obama urging you to vote against the "Republican recall" to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"Your vote could be the difference between protecting our kids or putting them at risk, helping Californians recover or taking us backwards," Obama said.

Obama is one of many Democratic Party superstars who stepped up to endorse and campaign for the governor with Election Day just days away. President Joe Biden is slated to stump for Newsom in the Golden State early next week, and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared Wednesday at a San Francisco Bay Area campaign event with the governor.

Newsom's campaign secured endorsements from Democrats across the political spectrum. Over the past week, he campaigned with moderate U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and progressive U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in Los Angeles.

Even U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke about the recall on her social media channels.

California: do not mess with this recall.

We need folks to TURN IN THEIR BALLOTS. Vote NO and drop it in the mail tomorrow.

Don’t sleep on this. It takes 5 mins but it’s urgent. We have so much work to do already and a nightmare fuel recall election is the last thing we need. https://t.co/XouDdNbltI
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 9, 2021

And then there was the ad that debuted Aug. 30 featuring U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — a former presidential contender alongside Harris, Klobuchar and Warren — who decried the recall as a "bold-faced Republican power grab."

Newsom and his supporters are blasting the airwaves and internet in a last-ditch effort to turn out blue voters who could decide whether or not the incumbent will continue to helm the state.

Their efforts may pay off.

A poll released Friday by the University of California, Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that six in 10 of the 10,000 voters surveyed in early September intended to vote against Newsom's recall. That's up from five in 10 voters six weeks ago.

If Newsom is ultimately recalled, the poll indicated that Republican talk show host Larry Elder was most likely to prevail.

Voters' choices in the gubernatorial recall are "first and foremost partisan and ideologically based," according to the poll.

The poll also found that voters of color were far more likely to support keeping Newsom in office, along with residents of the more liberal Los Angeles and Bay Area regions. By contrast, voters in the more conservative Central Valley, Inland Empire, North Coast and Sierra mountain areas were more likely to support his recall.