Newsom recall gets closer to making ballot in Calif.

Volunteers try to direct passersby to a booth where conservative activists gathered signatures in a recall effort against California Governor Gavin Newsom near Pasadena City Hall, in Pasadena, California on February 28, 2021.  (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)

The recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) petition in California has garnered 1.5 million signatures. Organizers believe the petition could reach a total of 2 million signatures by its deadline of March 17.

Those in favor might argue the recall has been a long time coming.

The effort recently gained major traction after the state’s restaurant association and residents alike criticized his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as “tone deaf.”

“You see a restaurant, maybe six to seven restaurants next to each other, and they each have five tables on the sidewalk, it appears as though the restaurants are doing fine,” Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association said. “But for every five tables on a sidewalk there’s probably 30 empty tables indoors.”

However, far-left lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) are attempting to put their nose in state business that has nothing to do with them. In a tweet on Monday, Sanders accused so-called “extremist Republicans” of undermining democracy, suggesting the petition is a “purely partisan political move.”

Sanders also claimed the Newsom pushback is solely because he told residents to wear a face mask, when Californians are clearly upset at the double standard the governor has publicly portrayed regarding lockdown orders for restaurants.

The Vermont lawmaker has since asked West Coast Democrats to unite in stopping the petition.

In the meantime, California still needs to determine the validity of the signatures, as those who signed it must be from California. In February, it was estimated some 83 percent were in fact gathered by eligible voters in the Golden State.