California's effort to recall Newsom may be a rallying cry for Republicans

But two months have passed since the last round of major polls, and Democratic strategists are hopeful. “I think that as we start to reopen schools, as we start to get people back to work, as we get more people vaccinated, I think voters are going to take note,” said Drexel Heard, a Democratic political strategist based in Los Angeles. “By next month some baseball stadiums might be reopened,” he added – which could take the steam out a recall effort fueled by anti-lockdown fervor.

Romero said she was skeptical that legitimate frustrations with the governor over the state’s policies, school and business closures, its disastrous inefficiency in doling out unemployment aid, and its slapdash vaccine rollout would rile up Democrats and moderate Republicans enough to vote him out of office, just one year before his term expires.

More than a serious effort to unseat Newsom, the recall effort is probably more of a strategy to rally Republican voters, boost Republican candidates, and raise funds. “The recall can be a rallying cry, in California and across the county,” Romero said. “For the Republican candidates running against the governor, it can raise their national profiles.”