Preliminary List of California Recall Candidates Does Not Include Larry Elder

The preliminary list of candidates for governor in the upcoming California recall does not include conservative radio host Larry Elder, though his campaign is adamant that it submitted all of the required documents, and is demanding inclusion.

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber released the preliminary list of candidates who wish to replace incumbent Governor Gavin Newsom, should the electorate decide to remove him, on Saturday.

There are 41 candidates, including 21 Republicans, eight Democrats, two Greens, one Libertarian, and nine with “No Party Preference.” Governor Newsom himself will not appear as a Democrat on the ballot due to an oversight by his campaign in his response to the recall.

The Associated Press reported:

California on Saturday released a list of 41 candidates running in the recall election targeting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that was striking for who wasn’t on it: conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder.

Elder, a Republican and regular guest on Fox News, announced his candidacy July 12, bringing a well-known voice on the political right to a Republican field trying to oust Newsom.

But he wasn’t on the list released by the Secretary of State of candidates who met the requirements to be placed on the Sept. 14 ballot.

Ying Ma, an Elder campaign spokeswoman, said she expected him to be on the final list of candidates issued next week. “Our campaign submitted every document required by the Secretary of State and the Los Angeles County Registrar” to qualify for the ballot, she said in a statement.

It wasn’t immediately clear what requirement Elder failed to meet.

The Secretary of State is set to release the final, certified list of candidates on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The ballot will contain two questions: first, whether Newsom should be retained; second, which of the candidates should replace him. If a majority of voters chooses not to retain Newsom, then — and only then — the second question will count. It is likely that a winner from that list would become the governor with a plurality, not the majority, of the vote.

The Los Angeles Times notes that in 2003, when Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced incumbent Gov. Gray Davis, there were 135 candidates.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.