California Recall Election Results
California Recall Election Results
Gavin Newsom was elected governor in 2018 by a wide margin. Three years later, he faces a recall election. Republicans leading the charge say voters are dissatisfied with his handling of the pandemic, homelessness and other issues; the governor and fellow Democrats say the recall is little more than a power grab by disgruntled Trump extremists. Here’s what to watch for »
Should Gov. Gavin Newsom be recalled?
If more than 50 percent of voters vote yes on the recall, Mr. Newsom must step down as governor.
Results by county
| County | Yes | No | Est. votes reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 29% | 71% | >95% |
| San Diego | 43% | 57% | >95% |
| Orange | 48% | 52% | >95% |
| Riverside | 51% | 49% | >95% |
| Santa Clara | 26% | 74% | >95% |
| San Bernardino | 50% | 50% | >95% |
| Alameda | 19% | 81% | >95% |
| Sacramento | 40% | 60% | >95% |
| Contra Costa | 29% | 71% | >95% |
| San Francisco | 14% | 86% | >95% |
| Ventura | 43% | 57% | >95% |
| San Mateo | 22% | 78% | >95% |
| Fresno | 51% | 49% | >95% |
| Sonoma | 26% | 74% | >95% |
| Kern | 62% | 38% | >95% |
| Placer | 57% | 43% | >95% |
| San Joaquin | 47% | 53% | >95% |
| Solano | 37% | 63% | >95% |
| Santa Barbara | 38% | 62% | >95% |
| Stanislaus | 54% | 46% | >95% |
| Marin | 18% | 82% | >95% |
| San Luis Obispo | 47% | 53% | >95% |
| Monterey | 32% | 68% | >95% |
| Santa Cruz | 22% | 78% | >95% |
| Tulare | 61% | 39% | >95% |
| El Dorado | 59% | 41% | >95% |
| Butte | 54% | 46% | >95% |
| Yolo | 32% | 68% | >95% |
| Shasta | 70% | 30% | >95% |
| Merced | 52% | 48% | >95% |
| Napa | 32% | 68% | >95% |
| Nevada | 46% | 54% | >95% |
| Humboldt | 36% | 64% | >95% |
| Madera | 61% | 39% | >95% |
| Mendocino | 35% | 65% | >95% |
| Imperial | 41% | 59% | >95% |
| Sutter | 64% | 36% | >95% |
| Kings | 64% | 36% | >95% |
| Tuolumne | 62% | 38% | >95% |
| Calaveras | 65% | 35% | >95% |
| Yuba | 66% | 34% | >95% |
| Tehama | 72% | 28% | >95% |
| Lake | 49% | 51% | >95% |
| San Benito | 42% | 58% | >95% |
| Amador | 65% | 35% | >95% |
| Siskiyou | 62% | 38% | >95% |
| Lassen | 84% | 16% | >95% |
| Plumas | 63% | 37% | >95% |
| Glenn | 72% | 28% | >95% |
| Mariposa | 61% | 39% | >95% |
| Del Norte | 60% | 40% | >95% |
| Inyo | 54% | 46% | >95% |
| Colusa | 67% | 33% | >95% |
| Mono | 44% | 56% | >95% |
| Trinity | 56% | 44% | >95% |
| Modoc | 78% | 22% | >95% |
| Sierra | 63% | 37% | >95% |
| Alpine | 39% | 61% | >95% |
| View all Collapse | |||
What To Watch
If Newsom is recalled, who should replace him as governor?
There are 46 candidates listed on the ballot — a mix of politicians, entertainers and business people, more than half of them Republican. If a majority votes in favor of a recall on Question 1, the challenger who receives the most votes will become governor. Larry Elder, a conservative talk radio host, leads the challengers in most polls. Since 1960, every California governor has faced a recall attempt. Only one has ever reached an election. In 2003, Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Results by county
| County | Elder | Paffrath | Faulconer | Est. votes reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura | 56% | 8% | 8% | 74% |
| Los Angeles | 44% | 10% | 8% | >95% |
| San Diego | 47% | 11% | 15% | >95% |
| Orange | 57% | 8% | 8% | >95% |
| Riverside | 61% | 6% | 6% | >95% |
| San Bernardino | 62% | 5% | 5% | >95% |
| Santa Clara | 33% | 18% | 8% | >95% |
| Sacramento | 46% | 9% | 9% | >95% |
| Alameda | 27% | 19% | 7% | >95% |
| Contra Costa | 38% | 13% | 7% | >95% |
| Fresno | 60% | 6% | 7% | >95% |
| Kern | 68% | 5% | 5% | >95% |
| Placer | 52% | 5% | 8% | >95% |
| San Mateo | 31% | 17% | 9% | >95% |
| San Joaquin | 54% | 6% | 6% | >95% |
| San Francisco | 21% | 21% | 11% | >95% |
| Sonoma | 37% | 13% | 7% | >95% |
| Stanislaus | 58% | 4% | 7% | >95% |
| Santa Barbara | 49% | 11% | 7% | >95% |
| Solano | 47% | 7% | 6% | >95% |
| San Luis Obispo | 54% | 11% | 7% | >95% |
| Tulare | 68% | 4% | 6% | >95% |
| El Dorado | 53% | 5% | 7% | >95% |
| Monterey | 44% | 11% | 5% | >95% |
| Shasta | 60% | 3% | 3% | >95% |
| Santa Cruz | 32% | 17% | 5% | >95% |
| Butte | 53% | 6% | 4% | >95% |
| Marin | 30% | 17% | 12% | >95% |
| Yolo | 37% | 10% | 11% | >95% |
| Merced | 62% | 4% | 4% | >95% |
| Nevada | 48% | 7% | 8% | >95% |
| Madera | 65% | 3% | 7% | >95% |
| Humboldt | 46% | 9% | 4% | >95% |
| Napa | 43% | 10% | 7% | >95% |
| Sutter | 53% | 4% | 5% | >95% |
| Kings | 67% | 4% | 5% | >95% |
| Imperial | 50% | 6% | 4% | >95% |
| Tehama | 62% | 3% | 2% | >95% |
| Mendocino | 42% | 8% | 5% | >95% |
| Tuolumne | 63% | 3% | 6% | >95% |
| Yuba | 55% | 5% | 5% | >95% |
| Calaveras | 63% | 3% | 6% | >95% |
| Amador | 61% | 3% | 7% | >95% |
| San Benito | 49% | 9% | 3% | >95% |
| Lake | 52% | 5% | 4% | >95% |
| Siskiyou | 61% | 3% | 3% | >95% |
| Lassen | 70% | 1% | 3% | >95% |
| Glenn | 59% | 3% | 2% | >95% |
| Plumas | 58% | 3% | 6% | >95% |
| Mariposa | 63% | 5% | 6% | >95% |
| Del Norte | 64% | 4% | 3% | >95% |
| Inyo | 63% | 5% | 7% | >95% |
| Colusa | 55% | 3% | 4% | >95% |
| Trinity | 53% | 3% | 3% | >95% |
| Mono | 53% | 9% | 8% | >95% |
| Modoc | 62% | 2% | 2% | >95% |
| Sierra | 57% | 3% | 7% | >95% |
| Alpine | 48% | 8% | 4% | >95% |
| View all Collapse | ||||
Latest Updates
The results map largely mirrors 2020 — counties that went for President Biden last fall stuck with Newsom. And so far (there are millions more votes to be counted), Newsom appears to be doing about as well or even slightly better than he did when elected governor in 2018.
Latest Updates
The results map largely mirrors 2020 — counties that went for President Biden last fall stuck with Newsom. And so far (there are millions more votes to be counted), Newsom appears to be doing about as well or even slightly better than he did when elected governor in 2018.
Some California Democrats are (optimistically) suggesting that the recall may end up paying dividends in 2022, laying the foundation for a get-out-the-vote effort that will help the party retake the House seats they lost in 2020.
Both the California GOP and leading Republican candidate Larry Elder have conceded the race, a notable development given how much they did to sow distrust, without evidence, in the results before Election Day.
A lot of Republicans said they would have done better without a polemicist like Larry Elder, the conservative radio host, as their leading candidate. But given the state of the GOP today, that might not be true. Even in California.
President Biden also dodged a humiliating defeat. The loss of a deep blue governorship would certainly have been a blow to his political clout.
This election might be over, but Gov. Gavin Newsom faces another one in November 2022. No doubt he’ll use this recall as evidence that voters want him to stay in office.
Republicans have made it clear that they will sow doubt in the results of the election, but a large margin of victory will make it more difficult for them to do so without any evidence.
I’d caution against extrapolating too many national political lessons from this recall. Is it telling us something about pandemic politics? Sure. Is a recall a highly idiosyncratic process? Also, yes.
John Francis Peters for The New York Times
I’m getting emails from big unions taking credit for powering the governor’s victory. Many orchestrated big get-out-the-vote efforts. I suspect they won’t hesitate to remind him of this down the line.
Gavin Newsom just became the second governor in U.S. history to beat back a recall attempt. The only other person to ever do so was Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin in 2012.
Expect to hear comparisons between the last successful California recall — which put Schwarzenegger in office in 2003 — and today. California was still a blue state two decades ago, but Schwarzenegger ran on local issues. Larry Elder, the leading Republican this time, really leaned into the national culture war.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is speaking now. “No is not the only thing that was expressed tonight,” he says. “We said yes to science, yes to vaccines, yes to ending this pandemic.”
Many of the biggest pro-recall numbers we’re seeing are from smaller, rural counties in far northern California, where residents bridled at pandemic restrictions.
What we’re seeing now are the most Democratic friendly votes, but the results mirror the most recent polls that showed Newsom with a comfortable lead. The recall would need to have a massive surge of in-person voting in multiple counties to catch up.
After this round of early mail ballots is reported, expect things to slow to crawl. The Election Day vote could take as long as 24 hours to count. After that, the late mail ballots could take weeks.
Gavin Newsom was expected to speak early tonight, and it will be interesting to watch how fast he comes out in Sacramento. If he’s feeling confident, we could hear from him soon.
Why haven’t any news organizations made a call? They might want to see at least a little bit of the Election Day vote and turnout before projecting the outcome, given the wide split between Election Day and mail voting in the last election.
As the way Californians vote shifts increasingly toward mail and early voting, election officials will need to figure out how to ensure that anyone who wants to vote in person on Election Day can do so without encountering long waits. I heard some grumbling in Irvine this afternoon.
Early result: “no” at 72 percent in Napa County, the heavily Democratic wine country north of the Bay Area. Newsom won 65 percent of the vote in Napa in 2018, so this is a strong showing for him in the early going.
Wow, the effects of mail-in voting. It hasn’t even been 30 minutes since the polls closed and the estimates are that more than 40 percent of the count is already in.
Jim Wilson/The New York Times