California Gov. Gavin Newsom recall election set for Sept. 14


On Sept. 14, California voters will hit the polls to decide whether they should recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) or let him finish out his term.
On Thursday, California's secretary of state certified that the campaign to recall Newsom received 1.7 million petition signatures. Under state law, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) had to schedule the election within 60 to 80 days after the signatures were certified. It was estimated by the California Department of Finance that this special election will cost $276 million.
This was the sixth recall effort launched since Newsom took office in January 2019, but the first to gain enough signatures to trigger an election. Organizers were given five extra months to gather and submit 1.4 million petition signatures, with a judge saying they needed this time because of COVID-19, the Los Angeles Times reports. This latest effort was spearheaded by conservatives who disagree with Newsom's progressive policies and his decision to lock down California to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsom has blasted the recall organizers as being disgruntled supporters of former President Donald Trump, QAnon adherents, and fringe members of the far-right, the Times reports. Recent opinion polls show that with the economy surging and the statewide restrictions lifted, Newsom has favorable job approval ratings. To fight the recall, Newsom is allowed to fundraise and spend with no limit, and his anti-recall committee has already raised more than $16.7 million.
Voters will decide if Newsom should be recalled, and if so, who should replace him; he is not allowed to appear on the ballot as a candidate. His opponents have until 59 days before the election to file their formal paperwork, and already several Republicans have said they will run against Newsom, including reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner and businessman John Cox. Cox lost the gubernatorial race to Newsom in 2018 — the same year Newsom won by the largest electoral margin in modern state history.
California has only recalled one governor: Democrat Gray Davis, who was removed from office in 2003 amid statewide budget cuts and rolling blackouts. Action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced Davis — the last Republican to serve as California's governor.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations