More than just California’s future is resting on the outcome of the current recall election to potentially remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office. If the 88-year-old Senator Diane Feinstein were unable to finish her term, her replacement would be appointed by whomever occupies the California Governor’s Mansion. Will it be the appointment to break the 50-50 split in the U.S. Senate? The future of the entire Biden agenda may rest on how many Californians turn out to support Gavin Newsom.
That future could very well be determined by a small minority of voters. Governor Newsom and the Democratic party are encouraging voters to vote “no” on the recall, but leave the 2nd question on the ballot blank. Polls are indicating that Republicans are more energized to vote in this election than Democrats, and if that energy translates into enough ‘yes’ votes, then the next governor will be selected by as few as 10% of registered voters.
In this difficult decision, some church leaders are urging their congregations to vote to recall the governor while refraining from recommending a particular candidate. Other pastors, such as Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, are endorsing specific candidates.
Recent polls indicate that the state is still evenly split over the effort to recall Governor Newsom, with a majority of California voters still undecided. With so much up in the air, iVoterGuide has released research on all the candidates involved, providing voters with well-sourced facts about Gavin Newsom and the 46 candidates vying to succeed him as the Governor of California.
Do voters agree with Governor Newsom’s stances on abortion, his lockdown of churches, businesses and schools, support for LGBTQ policies, and his views on taxes, green energy, and the homeless crisis? Do some undecided voters even remember his positions? iVoterGuide provides documented reminders of his policies and executive orders, all referenced so that voters can verify for themselves.
Peeling back the layers of personality, popularity, and party, iVoterGuide staff aggregated research on each candidate, including links to websites and social media, ideological donations the candidate has either made or received, and key endorsements. Vote ratings based on actual actions of those who previously held office provides voters solid evidence of how a candidate can be expected to govern if elected. Additionally, voters can review the survey answers of those candidates who accepted the invitation to complete iVoterGuide’s questionnaire firsthand at iVoterGuide.com.
In a race with so many candidates, money raised is one measure of a candidate’s likelihood of winning. The number of campaign donors and total donations are indicators of a candidate’s ability to garner enough votes to win. For this reason, iVoterGuide lists the amount of funds each candidate had raised and reported to the California Secretary of State as of August 9th. The twelve candidates who raised more than $100,000 have a higher likelihood of winning and were evaluated using iVoterGuide’s distinct process and data combination. The political philosophy assessment iVoterGuide presents for each of these 12 candidates provides voters a reasonable expectation of how each would consistently govern on a spectrum of issues if elected. iVoterGuide then evaluated the political philosophy of those 12 candidates to give voters a prediction of how those candidates would govern if elected.
California voters hold the power between August 16 and September 14 to determine the course of their state and likely the nation. With the confusing noise coming from candidates, political parties, and even churches, where can voters find truth that equips them to cast an informed vote? iVoterGuide is here to help voters determine which candidate can be trusted with power and represent the values that bind us together as a nation.
Debbie Wuthnow is the president of iVoterGuide and a member of the Board of Directors. She joined iVoterGuide in 2011 as a data analyst and was named president in 2018. iVoterGuide is a one-stop resource for candidate ratings and election information. In 2020, iVoterGuide’s expert researchers gave an in-depth analysis —and overall rating— for 8000+ candidates in more than 3,300 races nationwide. Additionally, iVoterGuide offers election dates, registration deadlines, polling locations, and other information needed to help Americans vote wisely and identify candidates on the ballot who share their values.)