'Study Newsom's playbook': what Democrats - and Republicans - can learn from California's recall
It was anger over Gavin Newsom’s pandemic restrictions that ultimately put a recall vote on the ballot. But the California governor doubled down, placing his coronavirus policies at the heart of his campaign and casting his leading opponent – the anti-mask, anti-vaccine rightwing radio host Larry Elder – as a dangerous proxy for Trump.
That winning strategy could have national implications for both Democrats and Republicans already looking ahead to the 2022 midterms.
“Democrats running in other parts of the country next year would do well to study Newsom’s playbook very carefully,” said Dan Schnur, a politics lecturer at several universities. “Newsom was able to take the Covid issue, which might have been a fatal weakness for him, and was able to turn it into a considerable strength.”
The Republican-led recall’s anti-mask, anti-vaccine stance was undercut by the rise of the Delta variant and a surge of infections that overwhelmed hospitals in California and around the US, said James Lance Taylor, a political scientist at the University of San Francisco.
“At least in some states, particularly blue states and some purple states, Newsom’s strategy has offered a model for Democratic candidates,” Taylor added.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/15/california-recall-election-national-us-politics
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