Protestors hoping to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom have rallied outside the State Capitol, hours after a campaign hoping to unseat the Democrat announced it had gathered enough signatures to trigger a ballot on his future.
Hundreds of protestors gathered at the West Steps of the California State Capitol building, in Sacramento, on Sunday after campaigners looking to recall Gov. Newsom announced they had obtained nearly 2 million signatures.
In a tweet shared by independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager, protestors were heard chanting “goodbye Newsom” near the end of the rally.
Organizers behind the RecallGavin2020 campaign announced at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento hotel, located across the street from the Capitol, that they believe enough signatures had been gathered to trigger a recall election.
During the media briefing, RecallGavin2020 media spokesperson Randy Economy said: “We would like to announce as of today we have 1,950,000 signatures. That is more than enough to have this special initiative qualify for a special election.”
Mike Netter, the campaign’s co-proponent, added at the same briefing: “This is not just about recalling Gavin Newsom, it’s about making the change in the way that California is run now and needs to be run in the future.”
Despite the Recall Gavin 2020 campaign declaring it has gathered enough signatures, they will still need to be verified by the secretary of state’s office in order for the ballot to go ahead.
The deadline to submit further signatures for the recall campaign is March 17.
Should enough signatures be deemed valid, a special election will be held between 60 to 80 days after the verification takes place.
A spokesperson for Gov. Newsom told CBS News13 Sacramento: “The Republican recall scheme is a transparently partisan attempt to install a Trump supporter as governor of a state that elected Newsom and rejected Trump in historic landslides.”
If Gov. Newsom is recalled, it would be the first time since 2003 that a California Governor was successfully replaced by voters during their term. That year Democrat Gray Davis was replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Gov. Newsom would be the third governor to be successfully recalled in U.S. history and the second in the Golden State if the campaign succeeds.
Last month, a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) poll found Gov Newsom’s approval ratings had dropped sharply since September 2020.
Researchers found 46 percent of voters in California approved of Newsom’s performance during the recent pandemic, a steep drop from the 59 percent rating he received in the IGS’s September poll.
The IGS had tracked a collapse in support for the governor over his handling of California’s pandemic response. According to a March 5 Becker’s Hospital Review report on state vaccination rates, California lagged behind others, sitting in 32nd position.
Of the 13,233,190 doses given to the state a total of 9,860,209 had been administered, a rating of 75.51 percent.
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