California Recall: Gov. Newsom gets a little help from his friends: Vice President Kamala Harris; President Biden next

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for California's Gov. Gavin Newsom.

With a week to go before election day, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party has brought in the big names to shore up the California governor's fight against a Republican-led recall attempt.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Asian American to hold that office, returned home Wednesday to campaign for Newsom, whom she calls her friend and allly during their parallel political paths since he was San Francisco's Mayor when she was the city's District Attorney.

"You have to understand that this recall campaign is about California and it’s about a whole lot more," said Harris, who was born and raised in the East Bay where the rally was being held. "They’re thinking that if they can get this done in California, they can go around the country and do this. 

"You got to understand what’s happening right now," said Harris, "what’s happening in Texas, what’s happening in Georgia, what’s happening around our country, with these policies that are about attacking women’s rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, workers’ rights. They think if they can win in California, they can do this anywhere. Well, we will show them, you’re not going to get this done. Not here! Never!". 

Earlier in the week, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar campaign alongside Newsom to help energize the governor's campaign. Sen. Bernie Sanders put out a commercial endorsing Newsom, hoping to get his youotful, progressive supporters to support the liberal Newsom by voting "No" on the recall.

President Biden, who in 2020 easily won California, the nation's most populous state, is expected to travel to California in the next few days prior to the Sept. 14 election day to add his support for Newsom.

Newsom's political future hangs on the voters who don't bother to cast their ballots. Despite all 22 million registered voters receiving their ballots early, with less than a week to go, only 6 million have mailed in their ballots or used the designated drop boxes.

Five-Thirty-Eght, which combines several polls find Newsom beating the recall, 54.3% of the likely voters voting "no" and only 42% supporting the recall. A month ago, the polls were calling the election dead even.

Following is the text of Harris' speech.

It’s good to be home. It’s good to be home. I was flying in, landed in Oakland, flying over the Bay, Bay Area. It’s good to be home. So I landed just a short time ago and I’m here for one purpose. I came home for one purpose. I always want to come home. But it was really important to me to come home today, to stand and speak in support of my dear friend, my longstanding friend, a great California leader, a great American leader, Governor Gavin Newsom. I’m about to talk about Gavin in front of his face. But, Gavin, you were just… I was watching you backstage and you mentioned Texas. I just wanted… just one thing about Texas. When I was leaving this morning, I was watching the morning news. This was early, I left DC. And they had this clip of the governor of Texas. And the words that he spoke were the words that were to arrogantly dismiss concerns about rape survivors.

And to speak those words that were empty words, that were false words, that were fueled with not only arrogance but bravado, that is not who we want in our leaders. We want in our leaders, someone like Gavin Newsom, who always speaks the truth on behalf of all the people, in a way that is about uplifting, that is about helping to understand the plight of working people, to understand the dignity of all people. That’s who Gavin is. And, guys, I’ve known him a long time. One of the things I know about Gavin Newsom, he never hears, “No, it’s not possible. It can’t be done.” Gavin doesn’t hear that. I’ve witnessed that. I was elected DA when he was elected mayor of San Francisco. And I heard [inaudible 00:02:43] talk about this, right? The marriages, that Valentine’s weekend in 2004. Gavin, couldn’t hear, didn’t hear, “It can’t be done.”

He had the courage, as he has had his entire career, to believe in and know what is possible and ability to see what can be, unburdened by what has been. The kind of leadership this daughter and we as California, and daughter of California wants. We want our leaders in California to have a vision of what is possible, to see opportunity of a moment, to inspire and uplift all people. That’s what the people of California have always wanted. That’s why the Republicans’ recall will fail. It is so good to be in the house of labor. It is so good to be in the house of labor. Let me tell you something, I am clear, I know Gavin is clear, it is the men and women of labor, the working people of our unions, the working people of California, who are going to show what kind of leadership they want and are going to walk their talk and make sure that this political game of this recall is defeated.

Let’s look at what Gavin has accomplished. He and I were talking backstage. He came in office after Jerry. And he came in with so much, in terms of what he was giving our state. And then things out of our control, any of our control, started to happen, but Gavin rose to the moment. Let’s be clear, on the issue of COVID, in this state, with the largest population of any state in the country… I’ve been traveling around the world. Larger than many countries. Gavin stepped up to the moment. Over 22 million Californians have been vaccinated, because of the programs that he led and put in place. Because he was not afraid, he didn’t say, “This problem is too big for me.” He didn’t say, “My state is too big for me.” No. He led with courage. I want us to remember those early days. Let’s remember the course of it. We were all scared. We didn’t know what was happening. But we needed leaders to have courage, to take a stand and make decisions.

If a decision is coming to a governor in a state of tens of thousands of employees, it’s because nobody else could make the decision, except the governor. It’s because it took one person, who is Gavin Newsom, to make hard decisions in a moment of crisis that was unpredictable and he led. He led in saying, “I understand the plight of working people. So I’m going to make sure that in the state of California, we have workers comp for people who caught COVID on the job because there is no reason that working people should have to lose their benefits in a moment of personal crisis like that.” Gavin Newsom said, “We’re going to have paid family leave.” Because as Jennifer said, Gavin has always understood that if you want to lift up America, you’ve got to lift up working people, understand that unions are going to be a big part of that and women are going to be a very big part of that.

This is the kind of leader we have had in Gavin Newsom. You have to understand that this recall campaign is about California and it’s about a whole lot more. They’re thinking that if they can get this done in California, they can go around the country and do this. You got to understand what’s happening right now, what’s happening in Texas, what’s happening in Georgia, what’s happening around our country, with these policies that are about attacking women’s rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, workers’ rights. They think if they can win in California, they can do this anywhere. Well, we will show them, you’re not going to get this done, not here, never.

So this election, guys, it’s not a one-off. We need everyone to vote no. I voted no. Doug, my husband, the first second gentlemen, voted no on his ballot and we mailed it in. We got to get this done. We’ve got six days. It’s a week from yesterday, so next Tuesday, the 14th. But let’s understand, we’re not only going to be doing the work of putting Gavin Newsom in exactly where we want him to be, which is as governor of California, to lead as he’s been leading. But we are also, in this election, making a statement about who we are as a nation. Because understand, if having a governor who is for workers’ rights and labor unions weren’t a problem for them, they wouldn’t be trying to recall him. They wouldn’t be trying to recall him, but for the fact that he has always stood for reproductive rights. They wouldn’t be trying to recall him, except they know he stands for our dreamers and our farm workers.

They wouldn’t be trying to recall him, except that he says that access to healthcare is right and not a privilege of just those who can afford it. These are the issues that are at play. They wouldn’t be trying to recall him, except that they know he is a national leader on one of the greatest threats to our democracy right now, which is these blatant attacks on voting rights. This is what’s going on right now. This is what’s going on right now. This is why they are putting so many resources and time into trying to take out Gavin Newsom. It is because of his vision. It is because of the agenda. It is because of who he fights for.

And so we are here to say today, “We fight for Gavin Newsom. We fight for our country. We fight for the values we hold dear. We fight for working people. We fight for organized labor. We fight for dreamers. We fight for women. We fight for voting rights.” And we stand as Democrats, saying, “We are proud to do all of that and more.” That’s what we stand for. California, let us send a message to the world that these are the things we stand for, these are the things we fight for. And we will not give up because we know that so much is at stake, so many are counting on us, and there’s so much good that we can do. Thank you.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more commentary and references, follow me on Twitter @dioknoed.

California governor receives key AAPI endorsement against his recall

GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

California Gov Gavin Newsom, left, swears in Rob Bonta as Attorney General.

California's Asian American and Pacific Islander voters could be a key demographic in the state's upcoming recall election deciding the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The AAPI Victory Fund today endorsed Newsom in his bid to stave off a partisan, right-wing attempt to recall him and urged all AAPI voters to vote “no” on the recall.

“We are throwing our support behind Governor Gavin Newsom and asking the AAPI community to send in their ballots marked NO against recalling a progressive Governor of California," said the Victory Fund's Chairman Shekar Narasimhan.

"Governor Newsom has been an ally to the AAPI community and this scurrilous effort by a right-wing minority must be defeated.”

The endorsement is likely aimed at shoring up Newsom's support among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters who helped produce Republican victories in House races in California suburbs in 2020 and are being courted by the GOP.

The diverse AAPI community makes up about 18% of Californians according to the 2020 Census. In the rest of the nation, the AAPI communities comprise about 7% of the population.

The AAPI Victory Fund will support Newsom heavily with canvassing, field organizing and fundraising, and will devote as many resources as necessary to fight back against the extreme, right-wing Republicans seeking the governor's ouster.

The governor has been reaching out to the AAPI and Latino electorate leading up to the Sept. 14 election day. Besides the Victory Fund endorsement, Newsom earlier received the endorsements from the California Asian Pacific American21 (CAPA21), a progressive political action group and 124 AAPI politicians holding elected offices in the state.

Newsom has been a dedicated ally of the AAPI community. He’s repeatedly spoken out against hateful rhetoric and anti-AAPI hate crimes, and he recently approved the first-ever Asian Pacific Islander Equity budget, a historic investment which allocated over $156 million to advocacy groups committed to using noncarceral alternatives to combat violence against the AAPI community. 

He also appointed Rob Bonta as the first Filipino American to serve as the state’s Attorney General.

Republicans are betting that anger and frustration generated by Newsom's aggressive health policies to stem the spread of COVID-19 -- masking, social distancing, -- plus, Trump loyalists and anti-tax advocates will motivate voters against the governor.

Newsom enjoys a number of advantages, chiefly the nearly 2-to-1 voter registration Democrats have over Republicans in deep-blue California. Democrats believe the danger is voter apathy and overconfident voters staying home.

Larry Elder, the conservative radio host who is leading several other replacement candidates in the polls, has also been mired in scandal over allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-fiancée.

But he also helped produce a budget surplus, some of which he used to purchase personal protective equipment for health care workers when the pandemic hit California; instituted environmental policies for cleaner air and water and  used the courts to challenge Donald Trump's anti-immigrant policies.

Polls have shown a tight contest in the recall election, with recent surveys showing Newsom narrowly beating out the campaign to oust him. Newsom has widened his lead this past week from a virtual dead heat to a 4 percentage point margin; 50.6 in his favor and 46.3% wishing to vote him out of office.

Voting day is Sept. 14, but the state has sent out mail-in ballots to all California's voters, which can be mailed in or put in designated drop boxes before election day.

I voted today; vote no on recall

California Governor Gavin Newsom reaches out to the AAPI electorate.

OPINION

I mailed in my ballot today. I voted "no" against the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

There are only two questions on the ballot. 1. Should Gov. Gavin Newsome by recalled; and 2. Who should replace him. Voters are asked to select the next governor from dozens of candidates ranging from transgender advocate Caitlyn Jenner to former San Diego Mayor Falconer to conservative talk show host Larry Elder.

Correction: This just in. “As the subject of the recall cannot be a candidate, a write-in vote for Newsom would not be counted,” a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office said in an email. “Only certified write-in candidates are counted.” Ignore the following paragraph.

Just in case the extremists are able to motivate enough of the disgruntled Donald Trump suppoerters, Q-anon followers, anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers and generally those against the democratic process are successful in ousting the governor, on the second item of the special election ballot, I wrote in the name of Gavin Newsom as the person I would elect as governor.

According to FiveThirtyEight, the candidate with the most voter appeal is Elder, who polled with 19% of the vote. It is possible that Newsom could be recalled with 49% of the vote and his successor would garner only 19% of the vote, or less,

Election day is Sept. 14 when people can go to the polls and vote in person, but Californians are allowed to begin mailing in their ballots or drop them off in secure, specified ballot boxes up to and including Sept. 15. If voters don't want to join the rush to vote on Sept. 14, early voting begins the weekend before at specific polling places.

In my Bay Area county, 91% of the ballots cast in the November 2020 election were sent in by mail and there were zero instances of voter fraud, as was the case in the rest of California. 

Democracy is not a bystander sport. It demands the participation of a well-informed citizenry. Thus, the act of voting should be encouraged and made easier. In this solidly blue state, Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans, but there's a sizable group who label themselves as independent voters, who lean Democrat but are fickle and are open to the arguments of fears and lies generated by the recall backers.

What looked like an easy victory for Newsom in the Spring has narrowed to a single percentage point in recent days. According to the FiveThirtyEight, a nonpartisan tracker of polls, as of Aug. 17, 47.6% of those likely to cast their ballots would vote to oust the governor; while those 48.8% would keep Newsom in office. Basically, a dead heat.

Although the state voted overwhelmingly Democratic in picking Joe Biden for President and former California Attorney General Kamala Harris as his running mate, the Democratic Party is worried that voter apathy could work against Newsom.

While the recall backers are excited and energized about their efforts, thus far, too many Democrat voters are not informed at what is at stake and the early media portrayal of a Newsom landslide victory may have made too many smug or have an attitude that their vote would not change the outcome.

Recall supporters know that people are angry about all the inconvenieces caused by the pandemic, state taxes and environmental mitigation efforts. Throw in the Republicans who can't win a statewide office and those who see the recall as a way to strike back at the Democratic governor. Then add those voters who don't like the demographic change in their state that has made California one of three states where whites are not in the majority.

That's a lot of anger and, it turns out, that's a lot of votes.

Newsom and the Democrats have lost some of that swagger from earlier in the year. Just making Democrats nervous is a win in itself believe some Republicans. A virtual dead heat makes every vote count and that's why Newsom in fighting for his political life..

California ballots are available in a number of Asian languages.

The governor is in campaign mode, making every effort to reach out to Hispanic and Asian voters for their support and to energize younger voters and the Democratic base. In a series of events reaching out to the AAPI community, Newsom was introduced by Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was appointed by Newsom in March to become California's first AG of Filipino descent.

“Gavin is a champion for APIs in California, and time and time again he’s put the needs of our families and our communities front and center,” said Bonta, in the virtual press conference.

“When the pandemic hit, Governor Newsom acted quickly to protect our families and most vulnerable community members,” Bonta added. “He listened to the experts, doctors and scientists. He followed data and evidence, and when Donald Trump used the pandemic to spew hate and anti-Asian rhetoric, Governor Newsom stood up and defended our communities.”

Newsom was one of the first public officials to speak out against the hate acts directed at AAPI. California, with over 6 million APPI residents, also has the overwhelming number of anti-Asian hate incidents, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a San Francisco-based community-based organization that has collected over 9,000 reports of anti-AAPI hate since March 2020.

“We’ve been very consistent in calling [anti-Asian hate crimes] out, and using the bully pulpit…and I was one of the first governors in the country to do that and push back against Trump and the rhetoric he was spewing as it relates to anti-Asian hate.”

Besides appointing Bonta, the state's top law enforcement official, Newsom also signed the $156.5 API Equity Budget, which puts into place a number of initiatives to combat the anti-AAPI hate that continues to surge through the state's AAPI community.

Almost all -- 124 -- of California's AAPI elected office holders statewide have officially come out against the recall attempt.

“I am very proud of this state, where 27% of us are foreign-born. We’re majority minority-born. We celebrate, we don’t just tolerate that diversity,” said Newsom during the press briefing.

A word of caution: This news article is laced with my personal opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to form their own opinion.