Gov. Newsom Increases Ads and Candidate Stops To Fight Falling Poll Numbers in Recall

In the wake of multiple polls showing Gavin Newsom now being within the margin of error in being recalled, the Governor increased both his visibility and created more ads with fellow Democratic leaders in turning the tide against him this week.

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On Wednesday, Governor Newsom acknowledged for the first time that he could possibly lose the election, largely due to polls showing that many voters who would normally vote for him would likely not vote in the recall election, while his opponents have largely remained motivated to vote against him.

“Let us be very direct and very honest: if we do not have the resources we need to turn out our voters, we could lose this recall,” said a fundraising email on Wednesday.

As a result of these recent figures, many nationally known Democrats are now producing ads supportive of Newsom in the recall. The first ad featuring a major figure was released on Wednesday, with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) noting that the recall was simply a “power grab” by Republicans.

“Here’s the deal with the Newsom recall,” Senator Warren says in the ad. “We’ve seen Trump Republicans across the country attacking election results and the right to vote. Now they’re coming to grab power in California. Abusing the recall process and costing the taxpayers millions.”

“Here’s how we stop them. Every Californian will get a mail-in ballot for the September 14th election. Vote no to protect California and our democracy. Stop the Republican recall.”

The ad, paid for by the Stop the Republican Recall of Governor Newsom Committee, with major funding coming from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, the California Democratic Party, and the State Employees International Union (SEIU), touched on many points outside the recall election, with Warren only mentioning the Governor once.

“You can say a lot about the recall campaign against Newsom, and believe me it’s not all wine and roses, but to their credit they have largely stayed on track and made it an issue about him as Governor and really haven’t made it a partisan or Democratic Party issue,” former lobbyist Harry Schultz told the Globe on Wednesday. “The Newsom team and his supporters have largely been going after Republicans in general during the recall because that’s simply where most of the support is. So, with this ad, they’re trying to mobilize Democrats, who make up the majority of Californian voters, and simply saying that this is a GOP inside job to get rid of Newsom.”

“The ad is really showing how worried they are getting, especially by focusing on getting people to vote by mail. The ad that the recall supporters need to look out for is the one where they say that a $600 stimulus check is coming. That’s the last ditch ad in case things get bad, like when Anthony Weiner put out all those universal healthcare ads in his bid to be Mayor of New York City or when the first George Bush started having nearly all Desert Storm related ads late in his ’92 campaign. If that ad comes out, a desperate but sure thing for votes, the recall campaign crosses the Rubicon.”

In addition, Newsom has been making bill signing stops in places such as Long Beach and Fresno in the past few weeks, visiting areas that have large Democratic voting blocs but where he is still behind in polls or has not spurred enough Democratic voters to vote in the election in September.

More ad campaigns to fight the recall are expected in the coming weeks, as are more appearances around the state by Governor Newsom. The recall election is due to be held on September 14th.