California sets date for recall election targeting Newsom

Michael R. Blood, Kathleen Ronaye/AP

Updated: Jul 1, 2021 / 05:01 PM EDT

California Governor Gavin Newsom talks during a news conference at Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Newsom is at risk of being on the recall ballot without his party ID – Democrat – next to his name. Newsom’s campaign is suing the Secretary of State, whom he appointed, after they failed to file paperwork on time. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California on Thursday scheduled a Sept. 14 recall election that threatens to drive Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office, the result of a political uprising driven by widespread angst over coronavirus orders that shuttered schools and businesses.

The election in the nation’s most populous state will be a marquee contest with national implications, watched closely as a barometer of the public mood heading toward the 2022 elections, when a closely divided Congress again will be in play.

The date was set by the state’s lieutenant governor after election officials certified that enough valid petition signatures had been turned in to qualify the election for the ballot.

Many voters have yet to pay attention to the emerging election, while polls have shown Newsom would beat back the effort to remove him. Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in heavily Democratic California since 2006.

Republican candidates have depicted Newsom as an incompetent fop, while Democrats have sought to frame the recall as driven by far-right extremists and supporters of former President Donald Trump.