By Angelina Herrera
The results of the California recall election are in, and Governor Gavin Newsom will stay in office as governor.
The latest results show that over 60 percent of Californians voted no on recalling the governor. If Governor Newsom were to be recalled the successor would have most likely been Republican candidate radio talk show host Larry Elder.
On the ballot, there were only two questions asked which were if Californians wanted to recall Governor Gavin Newsom with a simple “Yes” or “No” answer. And if so, who would succeed the position as California’s new Governor from the list of 46 candidates and 7 write-in candidates.
“‘No’ is not the only thing that was expressed tonight, I want to focus on what we said ‘yes’ to as a state: We said yes to science, we said yes to vaccines, we said yes to ending this pandemic,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a press conference.
The recall election came because of the outrage of some Californians resulting in a petition to recall Governor Newsom which only needed 1.5 million signatures to succeed. Millions of people in the state were upset about Governor Newson’s restrictions during the pandemic.
“I am humbled and grateful to the millions of Californians that exercised their fundamental right to vote,” Governor Newsom says.
During the time leading up to election day, Republicans and Democrats expressed their thoughts on what is best for California. Through television ads and speaking at campaign rallies both parties attempted to sway the Californian vote.
Republican candidate Larry Elder proposed lifting mask and vaccine mandates, minimum wage rules, fixing the homelessness crisis, among other things.
“Let’s be gracious in defeat. We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war,” Elder said in a press conference after the vote.
Governor Newsom had help from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well as former President Barack Obama at recent campaign rallies. As a Democrat, he supports the vaccine and mask mandate for Californians and was one of the most successful in the nation at keeping the Covid outbreak under control with mandatory stay-at-home orders.
“I think the recall was not effective and just wasted money. But our governor is trying to do what is best for the people of California,” senior Ethan Benavides said.
Others were surprised at how many people voted yes on the recall.
“The results of the recall election were very surprising to me due to it being a close call. I am happy to have a governor that cares about our safety in this state and is taking precautions in California,” senior Jocelyn Martinez said.
What this means for California is that Governor Gavin Newsom will stay in office until re-election in 2023, though he can run again.
Also, until further notice, mask and vaccine mandates will stay in place.
The Plaid Press 