When Governor Gavin Newsom beat Republican challenger John Cox in 2018, it was considered a landslide. On September 14, Newsom won a recall election by an even larger margin.
At $300 million, was the recall worth the price?
“It was absolutely worth it,” said Ellen Woitalla, a recall organizer for the Central Valley.
“This isn’t the end but the beginning of change for California,” said Woitalla.
Vicki Riddle, a member of the Exeter Republican Women Federation and former Republican Woman of the Year for Central California, agreed.
“If you feel that California is on a trajectory that is harmful for the state then it is worth it because the recall shone a flashlight into a dark corner of California,” she said.
“We would still be in shutdown if not for the recall,” said Brad Maaske, Radio Talk Show Host for Real Talk. “Once the recall effort started Newsom pulled back on the shutdown and changed his entire tone. Once the recall started he wanted to get popular with everyone and not just his base,”
Brian Poochigian, a fiscal conservative and moderate Republican, flinched at the price tag.
“I don’t think it was worth it. But people weren’t happy and we have the mechanism in place to conduct a recall so the people should be allowed to utilize it,” he said. “I didn’t think Gavin would be recalled but I thought it would be closer.”
Election Results
Statewide, 63.7% voted no on the recall and 36.3% voted yes.
In the Central Valley, the results were the opposite, except for Fresno and Merced County: at press time, their results are too close to call.
At the time of publication, the Tulare County Registrar of Voters reported 60.14% in favor of the recall and 39.8% opposed. The Kings County Registrar of Voters reported 62.7% voting in favor of the recall to 37.3% opposed.
The final numbers are not expected to significantly change.
Statewide, the gap between the two major parties’ registered voters closely reflects the gap between the yes vote and the no vote for the recall. The wildcard was those registered as No Party Preference (NPP), who seemed to lean towards voting against the recall.
When asked how Republicans can win office when they are the minority party, Woitalla said that is misinformation.
She said that California has a large group of Independent and NPP registered voters that do not identify with either party. Woitalla pointed out that the Republicans combined with the independents and NPPs make up a larger group than the Democrats.
“When we show them how conservative values can restore the state we can recruit the Independents and NPPs into the Republican Party. I invite those voters into the conservative party. We need to get them mobilized,” she said.
Riddle was a little more concerned about the future of the Republican Party.
“Unless we can make an agenda that people can really get behind the Republican Party in California will struggle for relevance. California has a lot of issues and the problem is we need to communicate our solutions better,” she said.
Riddle said that Democrats tried to rebrand the election as the “Republican recall” but that wasn’t true.
“We would not have been able to get to this point without some Democrats. It was an inclusive effort, Republicans and Democrats, that made the recall happen,” she said.
Riddle said that it was amazing that the recall even got on the ballot.
“People need to be congratulated.”
Out of Step with the rest of California?
It didn’t surprise Poochigian that the Central Valley voted opposite of the rest of the state.
“What is good for San Francisco and Los Angeles doesn’t necessarily work here,” he said.
Maaske said that the rest of the state is out of step with the Central Valley.
“We are the ones who feed the world,” he said. “The coastal elite are trying to tell us what to do and they are happy, driving out the middle class and killing small businesses with the shutdown.”
Woitalla agreed with Maaske.
“Ever since the state formed, the ag community has been the driving force behind the California economy, and when the elite in Sacramento don’t support ag,” she said, “they are the ones out of touch with the rest of the state.”
“We lost this little battle but Gavin will not have a day of peace. He was coasting through his term but it’s not going to be easy anymore. He will have a challenging year and a tough re-election,” she added.
“We have put him on notice.”
Newsom still the man! Trump destroyed the GOP! He planted doubt in the voting system in America and now they don’t vote lol. WHO CARES ABOUT REPUBLICAN VIEW VALLEY VOICE! THEY LOST!!
Thank you republicans for choosing ELDER the trumper, what a dem gift…..thank you abbot and texas for Sht%ting on women’s rights as well….woke up the sleeping beast in CA……blowout
This NPP will never vote Republican. The “values” of the GOP can be boiled down to “feed the rich, ignore science, and attack the rights of non-whites, women, and the LGBT community”.
Troy, Trump didn’t destroy the GOP. He might have administered the final blow, but Reagan deserves most of the credit.
There are decent individuals who, strangely, support the GOP, but the party itself has been in decline for decades. The only question now is how much damage they do before they become completely irrelevant.
Jim
Our valley sky every summer gets darkened by the ashes of trees burnt up in mega fires because of democrat forest policy’s. You guys stopped logging because you wanted to save trees even though many of you live in houses made of wood . Your new forest management ideas burn up more trees than the loggers ever cut . At least the logging companies replanted trees and the wood provided a huge economic boost . Now look at your democrat policy on water. It’s simple let water go out to the ocean and blame farmers for fish dying off when the real problem is all the cities dumpling untreated water into the Delta to flush the toxic waste out to sea . You guys claim to love the environment but actions speak louder then words . The Delta Smelt is thought to be extinct in the wild because of your party’s failed policy. Republicans have real answers to our problems. You claim we ignore science but if you ask me your party ignores it . The Conservative answer , to stop the mega fires is to go back to forest management that was proven to work . The Conservative answers to our water problems is to stop dumping waste water into the delta. Build water treatment plants that can handle it . Send water back to farms so they can grow the products that people need . Your party’s politics raised oil prices which hits the hard working people in the pocket book with higher gas prices. Now you are calling us racist but we just voted for a black man for governor while all you voted for a rich white guy who lets violent criminals out of jail , criminals who go out and hurt innocent people. All talk no action . California has lots of problems your democrat run city’s have poop and needles in the streets and all you can do is point your finger . Why don’t you and your party actually fix our problems instead of creating them
The forest fires are out of control because climate change and BARK BEETLE! THE DROUGHT MAKES IT WORSE. YOU PROBABLY ALSO BELIEVE TREES SPOTANTUESLY COMBUST LIKE TRUMP TELLS YOU RIGHT
GROW CASH CROPS YOU MEAN XAVIER! THANK GOD REPUBLICANS LOST RECALL. YOU ALL ARE IGNORANT CONSPIRACY THEORIST
XAVIER IS A HATER THAT KEEPS LOSING LMAO
THE CONSERVATIVE WAY HAS NOT PROVEN TO WORK IN THIS DROUGHT TEMPERATURE! PROVE IT YOU LIAR!!
Xavier,
I’m not a Democrat. I’ve never been a Democrat.
I don’t claim to have the answers, but I don’t see any states under Republican control that have economies to match California, job creation to match California, pollution levels dropping to match California, or anything else for that matter to match California.
This recall attempt was a desperate attempt by a party that can’t present viable options to the voters of California that will result in their being elected to state-wide office, so they tried an end-run around those voters.
If the Republicans have such great ideas, why can’t they win?
Jim do believe the extreme forest fires are a result of poor forest management or severe drought from man made climate change and bark beetle?
Both. It’s been a problem for a long time. Most of the lands these fires have been burning on are Federal jurisdiction, and Congress has been negligent in appropriating funds and designing programs. That’s been true under both Republican and Democratic control.
This is the kind of clueless grievance fable that makes me wish for a faster demise of the Republican Party. Trump Administration did not rake any forest floors, and fires were burning through his presidency. Climate change is happening, with its more extreme weather.
Your solution? Cheaper petroleum?
You might as well dump gasoline on the forests.
The Republicans cited in this article are not unlike the Republicans that were the face of the recall. Complain, complain, complain, and offer no alternatives.
Central Valley Republicans are empty vessels; no heart, no empathy, no sympathy, no ability to connect with anyone other than their fellow cult members. That is why they make such good little followers. Not one is capable of an original thought. They suck the life out of this valley.
Republicans continue to be a fanatic cult with no connection to reality. It is the beginning of change, but not like that culty dingbat thinks. The Republican Party will die in California first before it dies nationally. Nearly 2/3 of voters said no to this pathetic group of grievance culture losers.
The sooner the Party of Corrupt Liars dies the better for a real conservative party that deals in truth and solutions. The Democrats are into too much government control for my taste. California needs a real alternative to the majority party. The Trump Cult just needs to die.