Will Trump be spoiler as California GOP seeks Newsom recall?
LOS ANGELES: California could witness a stunning turnabout in a nation of deeply polarized politics if the liberal state dumps Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and elects a Republican to fill his job in a September recall election.
With the country’s political center largely vanished, it’s rare to see governors win elections on adversarial ground, making the notion of a Republican upset in one of the nation’s Democratic strongholds seem implausible. Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in California since 2006.
But there are exceptions: Republican governors have defied the odds in solidly Democratic territory _ Vermont, Massachusetts and Maryland. Their success looks even more striking when considering those states delivered the largest percentage victories for Joe Biden in the presidential election last year.
That could provide a dose of encouragement for Republican recall candidates, but the circumstances don’t square neatly with California, starting with the unavoidable shadow of former President Donald Trump.