With the recall Election Day approaching, Solana Beach residents rally for Newsom

Waving signs that said “no on the recall,” a small group of North County residents held a demonstration on Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach Sept. 7 in support of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“He won the election a few years ago,” said Jill Cooper, who lives in Solana Beach. “It seems like a sneaky way to try to put a Republican governor in.”

Voters have been mailing in their ballots for several weeks, with Election Day on Sept. 14. If more than 50% of voters check yes on their ballots, Newsom will be replaced by a candidate listed on the ballot’s second question who receives at least a plurality of the vote.

Several polls over the last month have shown an almost even split between the two sides, but the momentum recently has shifted toward Newsom. A recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that 58% of likely voters would vote no if the election were held today, compared to 39% who would vote yes.

With support from 26% of likely voters, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder is at the top of the list of potential replacements for Newsom, according to the Public Policy Institute of California poll.

Tina Zucker, who lives in Solana Beach, said she thinks California is “a role model in the important issues” and that opposing the recall will help keep it that way.

“I feel it’s important right now to try to keep something that’s been good and working well, rather than having it pulled out from under us because some people have alternate values,” she said.

Supporters of the recall have said a change in the governor’s office could help stop crime, reduce homelessness, prevent wildfires and make progress on other issues that they blame Newsom for worsening. Recall supporters also point to the infamous French Laundry dinner that Newsom attended with a lobbyist last year, which was in violation of his own COVID-19 rules. And the billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment payments that the state has made since the pandemic started.

Opponents have tried to tie the recall effort to the Republicans who wanted to invalidate the result of the 2020 presidential election. They’ve also said that a Republic governor could undermine progress on issues such as gun safety, health care and managing the pandemic.

Alice McNally, who lives in Del Mar, also mentioned the need to continue securing — and ultimately relocate — the nuclear waste at San Onofre.

“We’ve had some help from Newsom and we hope to get more as time goes by,” she said. “But I don’t believe that any Republicans on the ballot would be helpful at all.”