Photo: Getty Images North America
A new Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll indicates Republicans are motivated in large numbers to vote Newsom out of office in the September 14th recall election.
The same poll is showing the race is tightening with 47% supporting recalling Newsom and 50% saying they want to keep him as Governor. Those numbers, plus an enthusiasm gap among Newsom's base of support, mean Democrats will have to shift tactics to get their voters to mail in their ballots. Even though Democratic voters far outnumber Republicans in California, the GOP’s enthusiasm over the recall promises to inflate the potency of the anti-Newsom vote in September, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll.
Nearly 90% of Republicans expressed a high level of interest in the recall election while just 58% of Democrats and 53% of independent voters were as interested, the poll found. Potential pitfalls for Newsom remain, including how he responds to the fast-spreading delta variant of COVID-19, which could potentially force new restrictions, and a wildfire season that has already proved to be highly volatile.