California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Recall Election Set for Sept. 14

Newsom has steadied his public standing since the tumultuous depths of the pandemic, when his popularity declined.

California Democrats gambled by accelerating the date for the state's Sept. 14 recall election that could cost Gov. Gavin Newsom his job. Their hope is that during a relatively brief stretch of about 10 weeks, the economy will continue to rebound, coronavirus cases will remain low and the embattled Democratic governor can avoid any politically embarrassing missteps. The risk is that it doesn't go that way. The mid-September date was formalized Thursday by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat and Newsom ally, after election officials certified that enough valid petition signatures had been turned in to qualify the election for the ballot.