Conservative group releases list of gubernatorial candidates set to appear at recall forum in Cathedral City
The recall election for Governor Gavin Newsom is nearly two months away. As more and more candidates throw their hats in the race, you could get a chance to learn about some of them in person. A special candidate forum will be hosted by a conservative group at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City on Thursday, July 22 at 5:30 p.m.
Many candidates were invited, but so far organizers report that the list of candidates confirmed to appear includes:
- Anthony Trimino
- Steve Lodge
- Sarah Stephens
- Doug Ose
- Jenny Rae Le Roux
- Diego Martinez
According to the forum's Eventbrite page, doors will open at 4:30 p.m. A meet and greet with candidates will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. The forum will start at 5:30 p.m. A live Q&A will be part of the forum, attendees are asked to submit questions for candidates.
The organizing group is Unite 911. According to their webpage, "UNITE 911 is a Conservative volunteer-driven movement, based in the Coachella Valley of California," with a goal of bringing people together "to help save our beloved country from the Marxist/Socialist/Communist agenda." As part of their mission, the group says they "Say NO to career politicians. Career politicians do not have our best interests at heart - they have THEIR best interests at heart." The group also claims to "reject the deep state/mainstream media agenda."
California's recall election is set for September 14. Voters are being asked if they would like to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. If so, they are asked to choose a replacement.
MORE: Judge: Newsom can’t be listed as Democrat on recall ballot
The special election comes after a petition to recall Governor Newsom reached the required 1,495,709 signatures were required to initiate a recall election. The recall petition ended up with more than 1.7 million verified signatures.
Recall elections have different rules than traditional elections, as CalMatters pointed out earlier this year. Even if Newsom gets more votes than his challengers, he could still lose his job. In recall elections, voters are first asked whether they would like to get rid of the incumbent. The next part is selecting a replacement from the list of challengers. Newsom, the incumbent, would not be on the list.
If the "yes" vote gets more than 50% of votes, whichever challenger comes in first on the replacement list is immediately hired as the state's new governor. The challenger doesn't need to get more than 50% of the vote, they just need to come in first from the list of replacements.
MORE: Assembly passes bill to change rules for upcoming Newsom recall election; Bill heads to Senate
