Gov. Gavin Newsom remains in office after the special recall failed tonight. With 65% of the vote in his favor, Newsom succeeded in stopping one of 46 candidates from taking office.

Newsom was able to rally his base around the his “Stop the Republican Recall” campaign that drew support from celebrities, Democratic politicians, and tech giants. As a result, according to Cal Matters, over 70.9 million dollars were raised and invested into anti-recall advertisements and rallies. It focused on the conservative ideologies of candidates such as Larry Elder and their mismatch with California’s overall values. Furthermore, he emphasized fact-based approach to handling the pandemic and its effectiveness so far. 

Elder, Newsom’s biggest opponent, vowed to lift COVID-19 mandates, reverse environmental reforms, and supported a  ban on abortions. To add, he began echoing calls of election fraud reminiscent of other GOP leaders days before final result were in. The self proclaimed Libertarian’s views towards women and race theory have been the center of criticism. 

Also, Other candidates included former Olympic athlete Katlyn Jenner, businessman John Cox, and social media influencer Kevin Paffrath. 

Despite the majority of Californian’s voting “No”, Newsom said, “We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic. We said yes to people’s right to vote without fear of fake fraud and voter suppression. We said yes to women’s fundamental constitutional right to decide for herself what she does with her body, her faith, her future. We said yes to diversity.”