Californian rivals enter last stretch of campaign ahead of governor recall vote

Democratic allies of California governor Gavin Newsom continued to express confidence in his chances of beating back a recall but warned his supporters not to let up on urging people to vote as they seek a decisive win, while Republicans said the contest is far from settled.

“We don’t need to just win by a little, we need to win by a lot.

“We need to send a message: Hands off our democracy, hands off our California,” said April Verrett, president of the SEIU Local 2015, as she rallied union members who have been among Mr Newsom’s biggest supporters.

Mr Newsom joined the Oakland rally as his Republican rivals made their cases up and down the state and both major parties sent volunteers out to knock on doors and urge their supporters to vote.

The race concludes, and more than a third of voters have already mailed in their ballot or voted early in person.

A recent poll from the Public Policy Institute of California shows Mr Newsom likely to survive, and Democrats are making a stronger showing in early voting.

But the Republicans are expecting a larger turnout on Election Day, given many Republicans are sceptical of voting by mail.

“Anyone who is counting the recall out at this point is not really in touch with what’s actually going on with this movement,” said Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, who is running to unseat Mr Newsom and is favoured by some of the recall’s original supporters.

The ballot includes two questions: Should Mr Newsom be recalled from office and, if so, who should replace him? If a majority of voters want him gone, he would be replaced by whoever gets the most votes among the 46 candidates on the replacement ballot.

Mr Newsom has encouraged his supporters to vote “no” on the first question and skip the second one all together, something Republican rival Kevin Faulconer criticised as he cast his own ballot in San Diego, where he previously served as mayor.

“It’s very important that folks get out and vote.

“The fact that the Governor doesn’t want people to vote on question two, that is voter disenfranchisement,” he said, according to CBS News 8 in San Diego.

Beyond campaigning, several candidates marked the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Larry Elder, who is considered the Republican frontrunner, helped read the names of people who died in the attacks during a memorial service in Southern California before having lunch with veterans.

He shared anecdotes about his father, a veteran, and made his campaign pitch to the group, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Mr Kiley and businessman John Cox, another Republican candidate, also attended anniversary events, while Mr Newsom visited the Wall of Heroes memorial at the California National Guard’s headquarters before his campaign event.

More than 7.7 million people have already voted, according to ballot tracking data compiled by Political Data, a data firm that works with Democrats.

Mr Newsom called the numbers encouraging and attributed it to more Democrats becoming aware of the recall as it winds to a close.

Still, he said he is taking nothing for granted.

He will spend the next few days campaigning in Southern California, and on Monday he will be joined by Democratic President Joe Biden.

He stuck to his closing message that the race could have profound consequences beyond California, calling it a contest of “outsize consequences”.

He and other Democrats have likened it to former president Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election and have charged Republicans with pursuing a recall because they cannot win a normal election.

Californians have not elected a Republican statewide since 2006.

“The recall is about catching you while you’re sleeping,” he said.

“This recall is about getting us in an off year, in an off month, while no one else is paying attention.”

The recall made the ballot through a process in the California Constitution for more than a century.

Originally the recall was likely to be held sometime in October or November, but Democrats in the state Legislature sped up the process to allow for an earlier election.