Dire warning from Newsom helped turn California recall tide

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom turned back a recall attempt by motivating fellow Democrats who showed little interest during much of the campaign. California voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to keep the first-term Democrat in office. Newsom seemed vulnerable earlier this year as frustration over the coronavirus and restrictions that he imposed reached a boiling point. But he managed to energize Democratic voters and others by warning that the race was close and saying that if a Republican governor was elected, the result would threaten California’s progress on abortion rights, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.