Story at a glance
- A California gubernatorial candidate is hopeful a 1,000-pound bear will inspire voters to relieve “pretty boy” Gov. Gavin Newsom of his post in a potential recall election.
- Republican businessman John Cox set out from Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday on a three-day, six-city bus tour with the California brown bear named Tag.
- “It’s a choice between the Beauty and the Beast. Well, we’ve seen what the beauty has done. I think it’s time to unleash the beast,” Cox said.
A California gubernatorial candidate is hopeful a 1,000-pound bear will inspire voters to relieve “pretty boy” Gov. Gavin Newsom of his post in a potential recall election.
Republican businessman John Cox set out from Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday on a three-day, six-city bus tour with the California brown bear named Tag, the Sacramento Bee reported. Cox launched the tour to show the contrast between “successful businessman and entrepreneur” and a “career politician.”
Cox lost to Newsom in the 2018 election, but the Republican told reporters that voters have seen the governor’s resume and have a clear choice.
“My background – growing up without a father, working my way up – gives me the toughness, the beastliness, if you want to put it that way, to address these problems and call it like it is,” Cox told reporters.
“It’s a choice between the Beauty and the Beast. Well, we’ve seen what the beauty has done. I think it’s time to unleash the beast,” Cox said.
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Newsom defeated Cox by nearly 24 points, a loss the Republican largely attributes to Newsom’s celebrity.
“I got millions of votes, even though I wasn’t a career politician and I certainly wasn’t a celebrity. That’s a base to build on,” he said. “I’m not a household name, I’m not funded by billionaires like our pretty boy governor. I’m just a business guy like a lot of people out there.”
State Sen. Ben Hueso (D) told KPBS he “was disappointed and appalled” that Cox chose the bear as a political prop.
“Two years ago I introduced SB 313, which was signed into law and bans the use of wild animals in circuses. While the letter of the law pertained to circuses, the spirit of the law protected animals, such as Kodiak bears, from being used in events as props, such as Mr. Cox’s publicity stunt,” Hueso said.
Cox additionally launched a $5-million ad campaign Tuesday with a three-minute bit titled “Meet the Beast,” according to the Bee.
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