Get ready for the eighth attempt to recall Governor Gavin Newsom in his six years in office, a recall attempt that just kicked off today, but maybe having the washed-up Mel Gibson on board will help this one make the ballot and lose by 25 percentage points again.
It was exactly one year ago today that Republican activists launched their seventh attempt to recall Governor Gavin Newsom, and most of these did not even come close to qualifying for the ballot. Yes there was that 2021 attempt to recall Newsom that did make the ballot, but since then, Newsom was reelected in 2022 by a margin so large that no one even remembers that election.
And even at the high-point of Newsom dissatisfaction during the 2021 recall, Newsom survived with a 62%-38% margin, the exact margin by which he was elected in 2018. So this did not show even the slightest statistical loss of support for Newsom, and that stupid 2021 recall attempt cost taxpayers $276 million.
2021 Gubernatorial Recall:
— Matt Haney (@MattHaneySF) October 25, 2021
No (Keep Newsom) 61.9%
Yes 38.1%
2018 Gubernatorial Election:
Gavin Newsom 61.9%
John Cox 38.1%
What a massive waste of time, energy, and money. Recalls should not be used to just re-run a lost election half way through a term.
And yet the Recall Gavin crowd is at it again, as the Chronicle reports that the eighth attempt to recall Newsom started with a rally today in wildfire-ravaged Altadena, California.
Mel Gibson Joins the Recall! 📝
— Saving California (@Saving_CA) February 10, 2025
Saving California Board of Directors, caught up with Mel Gibson, and he’s ALL IN to recall @GavinNewsom!
👉 Sign up at https://t.co/npM8OQaBX2 to get involved. Let’s do this, California!@resolutionaries @houmanhemmati @elonmusk @EconomyRadio pic.twitter.com/AdhFfQhvAl
And who do we have involved this time, but Mel “Sugar Tits” Gibson! Gibson may feel he has some additional cachet, because he’s now one of Donald Trump’s “Hollywood ambassadors.” It is true that Gibson lost his home in the January wildfires, though dozens of other celebrities also lost their homes in those fires.
Mel Gibson speaking at #RECALLGAVINNEWSOM event in Altadena
— Emilio (@theEmilioShow) February 26, 2025
“The firefighters were crying.. they thought they let us down…They did not let us down!”
“Newsom has made it untenable to do business…It was more cost-effective for me to fly a crew to Bulgaria.”
“You think the… pic.twitter.com/M8buHuBjmU
Per the Chronicle, the recallers hope to get this attempt on the ballot for a July special election, though an election is unlikely to be scheduled anytime before September 2025. That’s barely a year before Newsom’s term ends anyway.
And while this effort’s “attempt to recall” has gathered enough signatures to proceed, an “attempt to recall” only requires a mere 50 signatures. Making the ballot requires 1.3 million signatures over the next six months. The 2024 recall effort fell well short of that number and failed to qualify for the ballot. Whereas the 2021 recall that made the ballot only did so because a judge gave them a signature-gathering deadline extension thanks to COVID-19.
Related: Sigh, Republican Group Trying to Recall Governor Gavin Newsom Yet Again [SFist]
Image: (Left) Gavin Newsom via Facebook, (Right) Paramount Pictures
