On Monday, Larry Elder, the common-sense, conservative talk-show host nationally recognized as “the Sage from South Central,” creator of the popular Larry Elder Show, and author of more than a dozen books — most recently Double Standards: The Selective Outrage of the Left — announced he was entering California’s gubernatorial recall election race to unseat Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom, who has served as the state’s 40th governor since 2019.
There are two parts the people of California will be voting on come Election Day on September 14, Elder told colleague Dennis Prager on the Dennis Prager Show earlier this morning. “The first is, do you want to recall Newsom — Newsom is counting on the majority of voters to vote no. And part two, and this is important, is the voting for the candidates running in the election against Newsom. Whoever gets the most votes will replace Newsom.”
The governor is facing recall not only for his draconian governance around COVID-19, perpetuating the decline of California’s public schools and the devastation of small businesses in the state, but also for the skyrocketing rise in crime and homelessness and general land and housing costs.
This morning, Elder announced his candidacy for governor to his tens of thousands of followers on social media: “Just signed papers at LA County register in Norwalk. I’m officially a candidate for governor in the recall election on Sept. 14,” he wrote.
In the California state legislature, Democrats hold the supermajority in both the House and the Senate. Elder, a Republican, who did his final on-air radio show last night, as required by law once his candidacy for office is official, is asking Californians: “[Are] they are happy with mounting housing prices? Are they happy with climbing crime rates and increased homelessness?” If they answer no, they need to vote for Elder.
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This latest effort to recall Newsom — reportedly this is the sixth attempt — has been led by a major grassroots campaign, beginning in June 2020 through March 2021, resulting in the gathering of 2.1 million signatures. That stunning number of signatures exceeded the amount required to ensure a recall option on the ballot at the upcoming September 14 election by more than 1.5 million.
Supporters of the recall say Newsom has “failed at his job and destroyed the lives and businesses of too many hardworking Californians.” Millions of Californians are fiercely criticizing his unprecedented response to COVID-19, claiming it is the root cause for the decimation of more than 70 percent of small businesses in the state and the shuttering of schools and houses of worship for more than a year. The cost of the personal and financial loss has contributed to spikes in suicide rates and depression since the severe restrictions began in March 2020. Today, California remains one of the most locked-down states in the Union.
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Born and raised in Los Angeles, Elder, a self-described “son of California,” says he “won’t continue to watch Gavin Newsom destroy our state. He’s got to go!”
Elder joins an expansive and expanding list of conservative and liberal candidates seeking much-needed change in California. Detractors of the Newsom recall have deemed the upcoming election a contest between the incumbent governor and Trump supporters.
But even among the most well-known conservative names on the roster so far, for example, Bruce “Caityln” Jenner, the Olympian-turned-reality TV star and transgender, has “denounced Trump over his stance on LGBTQ issues.”
Other Republican candidates include Chauncey Killens, who is “neither a politician, nor a career politician, but … a godly man that will always stand on moral principles, based on integrity, despite severe opposition”; Major Williams, whose campaign is pro-God, pro-family, pro-freedom, and about advancing legal immigration and school choice policies; and Nickolas Wildstar, who, according to his campaign website, vows to “say no to tyranny, take a stand against oppression together, and Bring Back Liberty!”
As Elder told Prager, the greatest hindrance to right-leaning candidates in this race is the mainstream media bias.
Elder, a renowned author and producer of the acclaimed documentary Uncle Tom, “an oral history of the black American conservative,” which was never even considered for an Academy Award despite garnering widespread praise, reminded listeners that none of his works have ever been reviewed by the illustrious LA Times, although several of his titles have made the LA Times best-seller list. He took the paper to task in his interview with Prager, recalling a time when he asked an associate of the Times if there was one conservative member, one conservative reporter. Not surprisingly, the answer was, “no.”
Elder went on to discuss the many unintended consequences that Newsom has caused in the state of California. He noted how the head of United Teachers Los Angeles, the largest teachers’ union in the state and the nation’s second largest, cited those parents demanding to get their kids back into school as an example of white supremacy, when teachers refused to go back to work earlier this year.
“The ones who are hurting the most are the black and brown kids, yet they said it was an effort of white supremacists,” exclaimed Elder.
Elder stressed to Prager how he’d vowed to stay out of politics. That is, until he started listening to people whom he respects, including Jack Hibbs, founding pastor of Southern California’s Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, whose prayers and persistence eventually swayed Elder to throw his hat into the gubernatorial ring.
“There’s a huge financial sacrifice,” said Elder, “but every saint has a past, every sinner has a future, and I started thinking about things in my private life. My goodness, Governor Newsom had an affair with his best friend’s wife, and I’ve never done anything as remotely as scummy in my life.” He continued, “Somebody’s gotta do this, you’ve been around L.A., you’ve seen the homelessness.”
Elder’s initial campaign game plan is to travel up and down the state, from Sacramento all the way down to the Southern border.
“I’ll be giving a little speech [in Norwalk], then go place to place to get my message out. It’s about television and radio,” Elder said. “That’s one reason I have an advantage over my other Republican candidates, because aside from Caitlyn Jenner, I have more name recognition than the others. The only way to beat this man is to go on radio and TV.”
“If Larry Elder wins,” countered Prager, “it will be the harbinger of retaking America. [He is] a man who loves America, loves American values, honesty, and morals.”
“I cannot win without money,” reminded Elder, whose net worth, in his own words, is $3 million. “As California goes, so goes the country, and you see what is going on in California with the rising crime, rising homelessness.”
In closing, Elder urged his supporters to go to his campaign page, ElectElder.com. “Thank you so much for the encouragement,” he said. “I would be shirking my moral and spiritual duty if I didn’t do this, and I am doing this, and I intend to win it!”
