SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Several members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus on Thursday denounced the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, rallying behind him after a recent statewide poll suggested a potential weakness in support among Latino voters for the Democratic governor.
Democratic Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, who chairs the 32-member caucus, said Newsom has looked out for the interests of all Californians, including Latino communities, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by approving rent relief and paid sick-leave protections, as well as providing one-time state stimulus payments and disaster relief for undocumented Californians.
"We are turning the corner, we're not going to turn our backs on Latinos," Durazo said. "We will not turn out backs on this governor."
Groups of Democratic Black, Asian American and Jewish lawmakers have held similar gatherings to criticize the recall in recent weeks. The Latino leaders spoke after two polls showed varying support for the recall among Latino voters.
A Probolsky Research poll released last month, showed 44.5% of Latino voters said they would vote to recall the governor, compared to the 41% of voters who said they vote no on the recall. A more recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 58% of likely Latino voters would vote to keep Newsom in office, while — 38% — said they would vote to recall him.
About 58% of likely Latino voters in California are Democrats, compared to 16% who are Republican, according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California.
Political strategists point to the pandemic's unequal health and economic toll on people of color in the state on why Latino voters would support the recall.
While recent polling suggests there could be some "slippage" among Latino voters, Roger Salazar, a Democratic political strategist, said the majority of Latino voters support keeping Newsom in office when they cast ballots.
In response to the California Latino Legislative Caucus, Randy Economy, senior adviser and official spokesperson for the campaign to recall Newsom, said the views of the lawmakers are not reflective of the views of working-class Latinos in the state.
"They're out of touch with their constituencies," he said. "We're very proud of the support we have from all Californians from all walks of life. "
The Democratic leaders contend Newsom's support will grow as the economy recovers from the pandemic. Newsom on Tuesday announced a plan for the state to re-open its economy by June 15 and end its color-coded tier system. Salazar said Latino support could increase in favor of Newsom heading into the summer months.
"There is some frustration over the impact of the pandemic," he said. "I don't think necessarily think it's Gov. Gavin Newsom's fault ... I do think that we are going to see those numbers change a little bit as things start to re-open."
Assemblyman Robert Rivas, a Democrat, said Newsom has worked to provide vaccines to the state's most vulnerable communities and would rather see the money and focus spent on the recall be used to help more Californians stay afloat during the pandemic.
"There's much more we must do to improve the lives of every resident of California and we can start by rejecting this blatant Republican recall power grab," Rivas said.
