Why California’s Governor Is Facing a Recall Election

California, the most populous U.S. state, votes on Sept. 14 whether to recall its governor. The effort to remove Democrat Gavin Newsom from office began before the pandemic but was fueled by his actions during it. The state’s only other gubernatorial recall election was in 2003, when another Democrat, Gray Davis, was ousted and replaced with former bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. That history gives outnumbered California Republicans some hopes of riding the latest recall effort back into power.

The bid to remove him started in February 2020, just before the coronavirus began its assault on American lives and on the U.S. economy. The petitions calling for his removal cite a litany of complaints, including high taxes and elevated homelessness rates; water rationing; an accommodative approach to undocumented aliens; and opposition to capital punishment. The recall petition drive collected the required 1.49 million valid signatures to force a vote. It’s one of six efforts to recall Newsom since he took office in 2019.