National Republicans for the first time are jumping into the effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the party’s most aggressive move yet to oust the first-term Democrat.
The Republican National Committee is investing $250,000 into the recall campaign, launching a digital and texting program encouraging Californians to sign onto a petition that would qualify the recall for a vote later this year.
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To this point, the national party had stayed out of the recall effort, instead leaving it up to local activists to gather signatures. Two state-based groups that have been helping to lead the push, the California Patriot Coalition and Rescue California, say they have over 1.5 million signatures and project they will have 1.6 million by the end of the weekend.
Organizers must submit 1.5 million valid signatures to the secretary of state’s office by March 17 in order to qualify the recall for the ballot, but they say they are trying to gather hundreds of thousands more because elections officials inevitably deem some invalid.
The RNC is partnering with the state GOP, which has also been heavily involved in the signature-gathering push.
The party’s investment is modest — but it demonstrates that as the recall is becoming more likely, national donors are increasingly zeroing in on the political fight.
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