California gubernatorial candidate Kevin Faulconer shares update on campaign

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – California could become the next battleground in the nation’s stormy, unpredictable politics as a recall election that threatens to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office gets closer to approval.

Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in heavily Democratic California since 2006, but the party senses shifting ground. Candidates already are lining up, hoping to tap into angst over Newsom’s pandemic rules that have reordered everyday life for nearly 40 million people.

California has become “the land of broken promises,” former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said last week when he formally launched his campaign and urged the state to reopen schools immediately.

Faulconer joined Good Morning San Diego to discuss the recall efforts and his campaign. Faulconer argues voters are eager for a change after years of Democratic rule.

Faulconer already has seen attacks from the party’s conservative wing, who see him veering too far to the left on immigration and climate change. The former mayor didn’t support Trump in 2016 but in 2020 changed course and backed him.

Newsom’s 2018 rival, businessman John Cox, has said he’ll be a candidate if the recall qualifies, and former GOP Congressman Doug Ose also might get in.

Recall organizers have until March 15 to get the 1.5 million petition signatures needed to get on the ballot. They say they have 1.4 million in-hand, though the tally has yet to be fully verified by election officials.