A new poll released this week showed that Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom is facing an increasing number of “likely voters” who believe he should be out of work.
The poll was from Survey USA and the San Diego Union Tribune. It showed that 51% of likely voters in the upcoming recall election would vote in support of recalling Newsom. Those who voted that they would keep Newsom in office came to 40% of likely voters.
As SF Gate reported, “The previous Survey USA/San Diego Union Tribune poll from May found 36% in favor of the recall with 47% opposed.”
Respondents were asked why they think that Newsom should be recalled. Out of the respondents, “34% cite Newsom’s handling of COVID restrictions; 13% the closures of businesses; 4% the closures of schools. Another 10% point to Newsom’s attendance at a party while the state was in lockdown. 18% say Newsom’s spending decisions are the main reason he should be recalled; 12% say the mishandling of unemployment dollars.”
Regarding who would replace Newsom if he were recalled, SurveyUSA noted that, after keeping out the 11% of voters who said they would leave the question empty, two candidates took the front spots.
SurveyUSA reported:
Democrat Kevin Paffrath, a YouTuber and real estate broker, takes 27% of the replacement vote today. Paffrath draws particular support from younger voters, Latinos, Democrats and liberals, and leads 12:1 among those who who are opposed to recalling Newsom. Paffrath leads 2:1 in greater Los Angeles and by 35 points in urban parts of the state.
Republican Larry Elder, a talk radio host, attorney, and documentary filmmaker, takes 23%. Elder runs strongly among older voters, among Republicans and conservatives, and leads among independents 27% to 19%. Elder leads 2:1 in the Inland Empire and by 30 points in rural CA.
On September 14, voters in California will be asked whether they think that Newsom should be recalled, and then they will be asked to select a person to replace him. There must be a majority vote for the first question, but the person who replaces him only needs the most votes out of all the candidates. There are currently 46 candidates on the ballot in California.
Over the weekend, Larry Elder, who has garnered the attention and excitement of many conservatives looking to oust Newsom, gave a speech criticizing Newsom, saying that he “slammed down the hopes and dreams of Californians.”
As The Daily Wire reported, Elder said, “Where do I start about the job this man has done, Gavin Newsom, in the last two years?”
“Let’s start with COVID,” he continued. “He slammed down the state of California in a way more severe than any of the other 49 governors. Ignoring science, his own kids enjoying in-person private education, he exempted his own winery from the mandate he was forcing down the throats of everybody else, sitting up there at that French Laundry.”
“I’m not only a lawyer, not only a talk show host, not only a filmmaker, but I also ran a small business for about 14 years and it didn’t go bankrupt,” he noted. “I didn’t liquidate it; I sold it, came back out here. My point is, I have met a payroll and it is hard to run a small business. Most small businesses fail. Those that do succeed are often just payroll to payroll. And this guy slammed down the hopes and dreams of countless Californians who had businesses.”
SurveyUSA noted that it interviewed 1,100 adults from the state of California from August 2, 2021, through August 4, 2021. “Of the adults, 888 were identified by SurveyUSA as being registered voters; of the registered voters, 613 were identified as being likely to vote in the September recall election and were asked the substantive questions which follow,” it added.