California Governor Gavin Newsom easily survived a recall election Tuesday in a closely-watched race that drew national attention and campaign visits from President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Associated Press projected less than an hour after polls closed in the state.
With 62 percent of ballots counted — and more than two-thirds of them saying "no" to the recall — Newsom addressed his supporters in Sacramento.
"No is not the only thing that was expressed tonight," the governor said. "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."
President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the results of California's recall vote "a resounding win" for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically citing the state's strong vaccine requirements.
Newsom faced a partisan recall effort that had grown out of frustration over his response to the pandemic and the state's strict Covid restrictions. But the results of Tuesday's recall -- which weighed whether to oust Newsom from office before the end of his term -- turned out to be a vote of confidence by California voters in his approach, Biden said.
"This vote is a resounding win for the approach that he and I share to beating the pandemic: strong vaccine requirements, strong steps to reopen schools safely, and strong plans to distribute real medicines — not fake treatments — to help those who get sick," Biden said in a statement.
Bookmarks