Doug Ose Drops Out Of Recall Race Due To Heart Attack

Former Congressman and Recall Candidate Doug Ose dropped out of the Governor’s race on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack Sunday night.

In a statement by Ose after being treated, he said that he had been rushed by ambulance to Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento and ultimately treated for a heart attack. He then made it clear that, although he expects to recover in full, more procedures may be necessary in the near future. With recovery and healing now his priority, Ose said that he has to withdraw from the race, only adding that people should still vote yes to recalling the Governor.

“While at home on Sunday evening, I experienced the sudden onset of concerning medical symptoms,” said Ose in a statement on Tuesday. “I immediately called 911 and was transported by ambulance to Mercy General Hospital where I was ultimately treated for a heart attack. I want to thank the Sacramento Metro dispatch, paramedics, and firemen from Local 522, as well as Dr. Hollar, Dr. Marquardt, and Dr. Spears for their world class care and medical expertise. I also want to thank my incredible nurses Anna, Jan, Balin and Heather.

“While I’m told I should expect a full recovery, additional procedures and potentially surgery are required, and it has become clear that I must now focus my attention on rehabilitation and healing. Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do. It is what is: my campaign for governor is over.

“I remain committed to the success of our state, and steadfast in my belief that new leadership is required to bring back OUR California. I continue to encourage voters to vote YES on question one to put an end to the current reign of corruption and hypocrisy.

“I’m grateful to my family, my supporters, and my team for believing in our campaign and our vision. I have a deep love for California, and since God gave me another day, I look forward to resuming the fight for the state that I call home.”

Statement from Doug Ose Regarding His Campaign for Governor. #RECALLNewsom pic.twitter.com/jMNKlonfK7

— Doug Ose (@DougOse) August 17, 2021

A question of support

Ose had been one of the first major candidates with name recognition to enter the race back in March. However, his campaign had been eclipsed in terms of support by the campaigns of former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, 2018 GOP Gubernatorial candidate John Cox, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), and more recently, talk show host Larry Elder and Democratic YouTube star Kevin Paffrath.

While Ose had been scoring high enough in polls to make the first recall debate in Yorba Linda on August 4th, and proceeded to distinguish himself by saying that he would remove Newsom appointees if elected, he never broke double digits when it came to support and lacked the fundraising capacity of many other candidates. In recent months he has not even been listed among the top tier of candidates in some polls. When he has been, such as the CBS poll put out earlier this week, he has only been drawing in around 2% of the vote.

Ose’s departure now leaves his supporters, roughly 2% of likely voters, open to pick another candidate. Ose himself can also throw his support behind a candidate, a crucial amount that could help several candidates get a quick boost in the final stretch to election day. Political experts say that his support, or at least his voters, will likely go in one of two directions: Kiley or Elder.

“With Ose now out, there is now a 2% chunk there out in the open, assuming his supporters didn’t all put in mail-in ballots already,” explained Northern California pollster Chuck Leary to the Globe on Tuesday. “Kevin Kiley is a good friend of Ose’s and their political ambitions have intermingled over the years. Neither of them took potshots at each other during the election either. So Ose backing Kiley is possible.

“The other possibility is Elder. They differ a bit on several issues. But with Paffrath now getting a lot more support from Democrats desperate to find some one on the ballot and Kiley still failing to break out of single digit support numbers, Ose giving Elder a small boost now would go a long way in keeping Paffrath at bay. Newsom is saying to vote no on the recall and not even bother with picking a candidate, but that hasn’t been stopping people. So Elder getting his support makes sense too.”

Ose is likely to give a statement of support sometime in the next few weeks. There is currently no timetable for his long-term recovery.