California Governor Gavin Newsom’s fate rests on recall vote

Results of recall vote ending on Tuesday also are likely to influence next year’s US midterm elections, experts say.

Californians are deciding whether to keep Governor Gavin Newsom in his job or to move in a more conservative direction, after a campaign that laid bare divisions in the most populous US state.

Newsom was leading in the polls, but he was still aggressively campaigning and bringing in national Democratic figures to urge voters to reject the recall vote, which ends on Tuesday.

He got a final push late on Monday from United States President Joe Biden, who warned that the contest could shape the country’s direction on the COVID-19 pandemic, reproductive rights and the battle to slow climate change.