Harris to campaign for Gavin Newsom ahead of recall election

Vice President Harris will campaign for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday ahead of the state’s recall election.

Harris’s chief spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, said on Twitter that Harris will travel to the Bay Area on Sept. 8 but didn’t give any further details.

News of Harris’s plan was first reported by CNN.

CONFIRMED:

On Wednesday, September 8th, @VP will travel to the Bay Area. More details to come!

— SDS (@SymoneSanders46) September 4, 2021

The trip for Harris, a former senator from the Golden State, will make her the highest-profile Democrat to campaign for Newsom ahead of the recall election.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden plans to campaign for Newsom, but it’s unclear when he will make the trip as the recall approaches.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will travel to Los Angeles to hold a joint campaign rally with the California governor on Saturday. 

The vice president was originally scheduled to campaign for Newsom late last month, but she dropped the plans after an attack on Kabul’s international airport killed 13 U.S. service members.

The recall against Newsom was originally introduced because of his decision to implement COVID-19 restrictions earlier in the pandemic. 

Voters will be asked two questions at the ballot box on Sept. 14: whether Newsom should be recalled and who should replace him. 

Forty-six candidates have lined up to take Newsom’s place. Among them, conservative radio host Larry Elder has emerged as the front-runner.

But a poll from the Public Policy Institute released Thursday found that Newsom would likely survive the recall.

Thirty-nine percent of likely voters surveyed said they would vote to oust Newsom, including about 4 in 5 Republicans. Fifty-eight percent said they would vote against the recall.