But the quirks of California's system could have been costly.
It may have been Gavin Newsom's job up for grabs, but the governor of California wasn't the only Democrat breathing a huge sigh of relief when the result of last week's recall election was announced. The fact is, the quirks of California's recall system could have easily resulted in Newsom being recalled and replaced by someone with only a minority of the state's vote, who seemed to spout a lot of the same ideals as former President Donald Trump. Yet it was Newsom's main opponent — Republican front-runner Larry Elder, an extreme right-wing TV host — that really raised the stakes and caused Democrats everywhere to get jittery. The incumbent survived, but that was largely because Democrats put their weight and their cash behind his campaign. In other words, as Miriam Pawel pointed out, "California — one of the bluest states in the country — is not so different from other places in being subject to the gravitational tug of partisan forces." Perhaps that will force the state rethink its broken — possibly unconstitutional — recall system once and for all. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment