Failed Effort To Recall Newsom Cost California $200 Million, State Says

Topline

The 2021 election to determine whether to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) cost the state’s taxpayers just over $200 million to conduct, California officials said Thursday, with the governor ultimately holding onto his role by a 23.8-percentage point margin.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 14: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to union workers and … [+] volunteers on election day at the IBEW Local 6 union hall on September 14, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Californians are heading to the polls to cast their ballots in the California recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The mid-September election cost counties nearly $175 million and the Secretary of State’s office over $26 million, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) revealed in a letter to the California Department of Finance and the chairs of the state Assembly and Senate budget committees.

The total cost was less than the Weber’s office’s initial estimate of over $278 million.

The recall was also pricey for campaign groups and donors: In September, the Los Angeles Times estimated groups in favor of recalling Newsom brought in $45.3 million in donations—much of it going to the campaign of Republican challenger Larry Elder—while pro-Newsom groups raised $83.4 million.

The recall was ultimately denied by a wide margin, with 61.9% of voters choosing not to oust Newsom on the September ballot.

Key Background

Newsom’s critics forced a recall after obtaining more than two million signatures from Californians in March—more than the 12% of the voting population necessary for a special election. Proponents of Newsom’s recall initially criticized his stance on immigration and complained about the state’s high tax rates and large homeless population. After the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020, Newsom’s opponents shifted their complaints to his strict stay-at-home orders and other Covid-related restrictions. Newsom came under further fire later that year after being spotted maskless at The French Laundry, an expensive fine-dining restaurant in northern California, attending the birthday dinner of a Sacramento lobbyist.

Surprising Fact

Owners of the California-based fast food chain In-N-Out donated $40,000 to the state Republican Partyduring the Newsom recall election, adding to the company’s history of supporting Republicans. Since then, the chain has come under fire for not cooperating with the state’s Covid-19 mandates for restaurants, briefly closing indoor dining at its San Francisco location after refusing to check for customers’ proof of Covid-19 vaccination.

Tangent

The only successful recall in California history came in 2003, when voters ousted Gov. Gray Davis (D) and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Chief Critic

Some state politicians want to make it more difficult to hold recall elections. “We need to create a system where a small, small, small minority of Californians … can’t initiate a recall that the California taxpayers spent almost $300 million on and that frankly distracts and really has an impact on our ability to govern for nine months,” California Assemblyman Marc Berman (D) told the Associated Press the day after the election.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonbissada/2022/02/03/failed-effort-to-recall-newsom-cost-california-200-million-state-says/