(The Center Square) – California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing yet another recall effort as his approval level sinks. Meanwhile, the governor is launching an ad campaign against Republican governors for a “war on women,” telling NBC’s Meet the Press that abortion is “a determination for women and their doctors” when asked if there is a week in pregnancy when abortion should be banned.
According to the latest February polling from the Public Policy Institute of California, Newsom’s approval rating is 47%, falling below 50% for the first time since 2019 when wildfires rocked the state and voters blamed the governor. His approval is now lower than it was in 2021 when activists were able to assemble the requisite 1.5 million signatures to force a recall election in the aftermath of COVID-19 policies that were longer lasting and more stringent than other states’. To secure a recall, Rescue California, the group leading the new recall effort, must secure well in excess of the 1.4 million signatures required to ensure the recall makes the November ballot, given that the California Secretary of State could invalidate between 10 and 15% of the gathered signatures.
Despite growing dissent at home, Newsom is directing his attention on national politics, unveiling a new ad campaign in Republican states that are considering or have adopted abortion restrictions. 88% of voters support some form of legal abortion, though 54% of Republicans, 49% and Democrats, and 47% of independents believe abortion should only be legal before there is a heartbeat, says polling for The Center Square.
According to the latest February polling from the Public Policy Institute of California, Newsom’s approval rating is 47%, falling below 50% for the first time since 2019 when wildfires rocked the state and voters blamed the governor. His approval is now lower than it was in 2021 when activists were able to assemble the requisite 1.5 million signatures to force a recall election in the aftermath of COVID-19 policies that were longer lasting and more stringent than other states’. To secure a recall, Rescue California, the group leading the new recall effort, must secure well in excess of the 1.4 million signatures required to ensure the recall makes the November ballot, given that the California Secretary of State could invalidate between 10 and 15% of the gathered signatures.
Should the state certify the ballot measure for the November general election — which means Rescue California would need the signatures by May — voters would be able to vote yes or no on the recall, and, regardless of whether voting yes or no, vote for their preferred recall candidate should Newsom be ousted.
In September 2021, only 38% of voters ultimately supported the recall, allowing Newsom to remain in office. Republican Larry Elder, a prominent talk-radio host, earned 48.5% of the vote among those voting to recall the governor, significantly outperforming any other recall candidate. Elder launched a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in April 2023 before dropping out by October.
Newsom’s polling was highest in May 2020, coming in at 65% as he instituted some of the most strict lockdown measures in the nation, and only bottomed out in the intervening time at 52% in September 2022. While Newsom attending an unmasked dinner in Napa Valley at The French Laundry, one of the top-rated restaurants in the world, during the state’s lockdown drove many voters to sign on to the recall, his approval after the onset of the pandemic and before the recall never fell below 53%.
With only 70% of Democrats, 38% of independents, and 15% of Republicans approving of Newsom, less than half of California voters still support the governor.
