Larry Elder concedes California Recall election race as Gavin Newsom wins

Governor Gavin Newsom | Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

The leading Republican candidate for the California recall race admitted that unofficial results on Tuesday showed Gov.

Gavin Newsom avoided efforts to remove him from office. Larry Elder, 69, garnered nearly half of the votes of voters who chose to replace Newsom, but about 64% of Californians who voted chose not to remove the governor.

“Let’s be gracious in defeat,” Elder said at an Orange County rally for volunteers, even as some of his supporters called on him to not accept the result. “We may have lost the battle but we are going to win the war.”

Campaign officials did not immediately acknowledge the defeat when news organizations called the race for Newsom, saying they had hoped in-person voting — “real ballots” from “working people,” as one official called it — would sway the results.

Elder would have been California’s first black governor if he were elected.

The governor received support from former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden, while Elder didn’t see much support from national Republicans. The California Republican Party declined to endorse a candidate in the election.

Elder also made a serious push to appeal to the growing Latino and Asian Californians, securing endorsements from Latino leaders who want more opportunities for parents to choose schools for their children and among Asian leaders who favor business-friendly policies.

15 Sept 2021