Written by: Nathaniel Mannor
With the recall election fast approaching, Governor Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial grip is slipping as one of his key policies backfires. First, Gavin Newsom passed the Golden State Stimulus program sending $600 to 5.7 million low-income families in February. Then in May, Newsom expanded the program to include anyone making $75,000 or less to receive the $600, such as those receiving Supplemental Security Income.
However, the stimulus package insists that to earn the benefits, recipients had to make income and file tax returns last year to qualify. Unfortunately, this excludes thousands of retirees, veterans, and disabled people who receive government assistance.
Newsom’s incompetence has left out California residents who desperately need government benefits, such as Crystal Vazquez, Chris Cummins, and Sherriel Weithers. These three women receive disability insurance and, more importantly, usually vote Democratic. “You just erased a whole section of society, and we feel pretty marginalized and erased already. And we vote,” Vazquez explained, as low-income voters in California could turn the tide of the recall in favor of a Yes outcome.
They lost faith in Gavin Newsom to solve their biggest problems: increasing stimulus benefits for working-class people and dealing with the homeless crisis. On top of that, undocumented immigrants also qualify for the Golden State Stimulus program if they make under $75,000 a year, thereby incentivizing more illegal immigration for California.
All these factors could see the working class turnout for recalling Gavin Newsom and replacing him with a Republican governor. While Democrats can try and buy the working-class vote, remember that Trump appealed to low-income Americans to win the rust-belt and the presidency in 2016. If the Republican gubernatorial candidates use the same strategy, they’re sure to oust Newsom once and for all.
Image from: Eric Risberg/Pool/AP
