Elder Exit Opens GOP Field for California Governor
(My Epoch Times article)
Larry Elder has again scrambled the Republican race for governor. He did so last year during his late, brief run in the recall against Gov. Gavin Newsom. And he did so this week by announcing he wouldn’t run again.
Elder was probably the best shot for Republicans to defeat Newsom. But it’s still a long way to November.
The main difference between the recall and today is the deteriorating status of President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party. Between the Sept. 14 recall and today came the Nov. 2 Virginia gubernatorial election, won by Republican Glenn Youngkin against a Newsom-type liberal Democrat, Terry McAuliffe.
Inflation, unemployment, lockdowns, vaccine mandates, Critical Race Theory pushed on schoolchildren, the incumbents’ inability to deal with the massive new COVID-19 outbreak and other issues continue to plague Democrats at all levels.
Moreover, while in September Newsom tied Elder to former President Trump, that tactic is unlikely to work against whatever Republican goes against him in 10 months. By then, Biden will have been in office almost two years, and whatever problems ail the nation by then will be blamed on him and the Democratic Congress.
Virginia was also the first place we started to see actual voting proof—as opposed to polls—showing Latinos starting to move toward the Republican Party.
Yet this still is California. Newsom will be spreading around a state surplus estimated by the Legislative Analyst at $31 billion. Although unemployment here remains the highest among the states at 6.9 percent in November, I still see “Help Wanted” signs all over Orange County.
So long as the economy continues strong, it’s going to be hard to defeat the incumbent governor.
Republican Candidates
Elder did well because he had high name recognition from his decades-long radio show in Southern California. He said after the loss, he might have won with the extended length of a traditional campaign, with time to refute Newsom’s attacks.
“I do believe that I am likable and appealing, and if voters had enough chance to see me and recognize I don’t have a tail, I don’t have horns, and I had more time to raise more money, things just might have been different,” Elder said.
Nobody else has the same stature as Elder. But this time there’s a June 7 primary, which will elevate the top Republican.
With Elder out, here are some potential GOP candidates for governor. All are speculative.
THE REST HERE:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/elder-exit-opens-gop-field-for-california-governor_4196144.html