Election Day is Tuesday, and the campaign efforts of those who support and oppose the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are only getting more intense.
On Sunday, Republican frontrunner Larry Elder appeared in Los Angeles alongside actor and activist Rose McGowan, who accused Newsom’s wife, First Partner Jennifer Lynn Siebel Newsom, of pressuring her against speaking out against disgraced movie mogul and now-convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.
Instead of supporting Newsom, McGowan encouraged Californians to think outside of party labels and vote for Elder, whom she called “the better candidate” and “the better man.”
Elder also accused the mainstream media of not adequately covering the claim.
“This is all you guys would be talking about if the allegation were made about me or my significant other,” Elder said.
When asked about the comments by Elder and McGowan, Newsom pushed back against McGowan’s claim and called Elder “extreme even by extreme standards.”
“Those allegations are outrageous and false and says everything you need to know about [Elder’s] campaign,” Newsom said.
Newsom also continued to characterize the recall effort as “Republican-backed,” which Elder criticized in his Sunday appearance.
“Gavin Newsom has been able to switch this thing from a referendum on his behavior, his governance, into a ‘Republican takeover,’ as if that has anything to do with crime, as if that has anything to do with homelessness, as if that has anything to do with the outrageous cost of living,” Elder said.
As of Friday, Newsom appears to be on track to stay in office, with more than 60% of likely voters saying they’ll vote against the recall effort, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times.
Newsom isn’t letting up, however. Advertisements against the recall have featured prominent Democrats like U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former President Barack Obama, and Newsom has been joined by Warren, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Vice President Kamala Harris for rallies.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden is scheduled to join the governor in Long Beach for an anti-recall rally.
To learn more about the recall effort, check out KTLA’s ballot guide.