Liberal political groups expressed their horror and shock at how close California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is to losing the recall election, according to recent polling.
Their emotions were relayed in a conference call where liberal leaders begged for help from out-of-state organizations to shore up the effort to defeat the recall.
The lead speaker on the call cited a “horrifying” poll showing that Newsom was within the margin error from losing the election.
“We need your help now,” said the unidentified speaker on the conference call, according to a Newsweek report.
Democrats are afraid that support for Newsom is eroding among California’s largest demographic group, Latinos. Although Newsom was able to garner the support of two-thirds of Latinos in his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, recent polling says many are turning against him.
A CBS News poll found that 50% of Latinos supported the recall campaign against Newsom, while a separate Berkeley IGS Poll found 40% of Latinos supported it in July.
A Democratic strategist said that Latinos could be souring on Newsom because they faced disproportionate consequences from the coronavirus pandemic.
“They’ve been working their asses off on the frontlines from farmworkers, to the cashier at the supermarket, while white people got the vaccine first and were able to stay home,” said Michael Trujillo, a Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist. “You want to talk about two different Californias, we felt it.”
The recall election ballot is arranged so that Californians will vote first on whether or not to recall Newsom, and vote secondly on who should replace him. That means all it takes is 50% plus one vote to recall Newsom, even if none of the challengers can garner a majority of votes.
The current frontrunner among those vying to replace Newsom is conservative talk radio show host Larry Elder.
Absentee ballots for the recall election have already been sent to voters, but the election will take place on Sept.14.
Here’s more about the GOP outreach to California Latinos:
Newsom recall: CA republican party reaches out to Hispanic voters
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