Justin Bullock, FISM News
The California Governor recall election is quickly approaching and the early reports indicate that the special election will be extremely close. Analysts for the Republican National Convention (RNC) are urging the California GOP not to endorse any particular candidate due to the fact that all indications point to a statistical tie in the election. The RNC is saying that if the California GOP endorses one candidate over another they could risk fragmenting voters and give the Democrat incumbent, Gavin Newsom, a boost just before the election.
The RNC wants to allow voters to ultimately decide for themselves in California and will not be issuing an endorsement for any of the Republican candidates for governor. In fact, Harmeet Dhillon and Shawn Steel of the RNC sent an email to the California GOP on Friday. A copy of that email was obtained by the Associated Press, and Newsweek reports that Dhillon and Steel said,
The polls are showing that the recall is in a statistical tie and we cannot afford to discourage voters who are passionate about a particular candidate, yet may not vote because their favored candidate didn’t receive the endorsement… Any of our GOP candidates would be superior to Gavin Newsom. We believe that the voters should decide his replacement, which will not only ensure a higher turnout of recall proponents but give Newsom’s successor the best chance of reelection in 2022.
The four candidates who had gained the most support and were eligible for the official endorsement include: conservative radio host Larry Elder, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, state Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, and former Rep. Doug Ose. However there will be many more names on the ballot as 42 people gained enough signatures to run.
In the recall election there will be two questions posed to voters: 1) Should Governor Newsom be recalled, yes or no? 2) If yes, who should replace Newsom? If more than 50% of Californian voters vote yes to question #1, the candidate with the most votes in question #2 will become governor of the Golden State.
The special election will finally be held on September 14 and everyone is watching California expectantly. The election may also be a good indication for some of the upcoming midterm federal elections by providing a basic idea of where American voters are at right now.