California Gov. Gavin Newsom is once again the target of a recall effort, with the latest attempt gaining approval from the state to begin collecting signatures.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced Tuesday that recall has been approved to begin circulating petitions.
What we’re watching: Recall proponents need to collect at least 1,311,963 signatures, which is 12 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.
- They have until Sep. 3 to submit the signatures to the state.
Driving the news: Rescue California is the group behind the recall attempt.
- The group announced last month that it was launching the effort in part because of the $73 billion budget deficit projection made by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
- Newsom responded on X, saying, “Trump Republicans are launching another wasteful recall campaign to distract us from the existential fight for democracy and reproductive freedom. We will defeat them.”
The backstory: Three years ago California voters went to the polls to decide on whether or not to oust Newsom in his third year in office.
- But Newsom coasted with 62 percent of voters rejecting the recall.
