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5 takeaways after California governor handily defeats recall

A group of pro-recall voters gather to watch early results of the California Recall election during an election party at the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A group of pro-recall voters gather to watch early results of the California Recall election during an election party at the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) A group of pro-recall voters gather to watch early results of the California Recall election during an election party at the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI / Associated Press 7 min read

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ably fended off a recall attempt from Republicans on Tuesday, changing the stakes of the contest from a referendum on his own performance and into a partisan fight over Trumpism and the coronavirus.

Five takeaways from Newsom’s victory:

COVID PRECAUTIONS CAN HELP DEMOCRATS

Republicans intended the recall to be a referendum on Democrats’ rule of California, and the homelessness, crime, high housing costs and energy problems that accompanied it. But in a bit of political maneuvering – and with the help of the spreading delta variant – Newsom turned it into a referendum on Republicans’ opposition to precautions against the coronavirus.

The Republicans running to replace Newsom opposed mask and vaccine mandates, and the California governor was happy to highlight that. Newsom aired an ad calling the recall “a matter of life and death” and accusing the top Republican candidate, talk radio host Larry Elder, of “peddling deadly conspiracy theories.”