President Biden on Thursday urged California voters to reject an upcoming recall vote that could remove Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) from office.
"Gov. @GavinNewsom is leading California through unprecedented crises—he's a key partner in fighting the pandemic and helping build our economy back better," Biden tweeted from his personal account. "To keep him on the job, registered voters should vote no on the recall election by 9/14 and keep California moving forward."
The tweet marked Biden's first public foray into the recall as some Democrats worry about a lack of enthusiasm on the left that could hurt Newsom. Californians will vote whether to support the recall in September.
On the same ballot, they will be given the choice to vote for Newsom or a GOP candidate. The candidate with the most votes will win only if the recall effort itself receives a majority of support.
A White House official told The Los Angeles Times that Biden and Vice President Harris, a former California senator, could make in-person campaign stops to support Newsom as the election nears.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had a day earlier suggested Biden was not planning to get especially involved in the race.
"I don't — I wouldn't say he's following it particularly closely, in the sense that he's got a lot on his agenda. But we certainly support Governor Newsom and have worked with him on a range of key issues, whether it's the pandemic, addressing wildfires, growing the economy, and look forward to continuing to do so."
"He supports him," Psaki said Wednesday. "I don't have anything in terms of additional steps to preview for you."
Several Republican candidates have entered the field in a bid to be the next governor, should the recall vote succeed. The California Republican Party last week opted not to endorse any of the candidates, saying it did not want to tip the scales in favor of one candidate.
A University of California Berkley poll conducted last month found 47 percent of likely voters in the state supported recalling Newsom, while 50 percent opposed the idea.
The Hill, August 12, 2021
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August 13, 2021
Voices4America Post Script. You know what to do! Share this! Vote No! Urge others to vote NO. #StopTheRecall