Gov. Gavin Newsom won last week’s recall election by criticizing politicians who aren’t as strict about COVID-19 precautions, according to a political communication professor.
“This was an election about COVID-19 from the very beginning,” said Daniel Schnur, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Public Policy, and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications. “The recall election wouldn't have qualified for the ballot if it weren't for COVID-19 and he would have never been in any trouble if it hadn't been for COVID-19.”
At the height of the pandemic, Newsom was photographed attending a group dinner at French Laundry restaurant without wearing a face covering while having issued a statewide mask mandate for everyone else to follow.
Shortly after Newsom apologized for the double standard and the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were unveiled by the Trump Administration, it was widely reported that California was the first state to mandate the COVID shot for healthcare workers in March of this year.
“Newsom was able to contrast his own work on the issue with the approach that governors in other parts of the country have taken and, by comparison, Californians decided he had done a pretty good job,” Schnur told the Southern California Record. “Technically, he ran against Larry Elder but he also ran against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott by asking voters whether they really want the type of outcomes that you're seeing in Texas and Florida.”
DeSantis and Abbott, both Republicans, have focused on providing their residents with monoclonal antibody therapy in the early stages of coronavirus infection rather than advocating for masking and COVID vaccine even as the federal government is now rationing the emergency use authorization monoclonal drug, according to media reports.
“Newsom ran pretty hard on vaccine and mask mandates,” Schnur said. “So, having won by this wide of a margin, it wouldn't be surprising to see him move even more aggressively in that direction.”
Some 46 Republicans campaigned to replace Gov. Newsom, a Democrat, but Republican Larry Elder became the breakout contender.
As previously reported, the talk show host garnered the support of 47.9% of 6.6 million people who voted to replace Gov. Newsom in question number two but the number of voters who chose 'No' on question number one to replace Gov. Newsom outweighed at 11.7 million people or 62.7%.
“Because the recall effort was unsuccessful and because the margin was so large, Newsom is actually in a stronger position now then when the recall started,” Schnur added. “That’s not to say that a Republican cannot win next year. It just means it's going to be even more difficult now.”