California Recall Election 2021: Polls Show Democrat Gavin Newsom Will Survive Recall

Polls leading up to Tuesday's recall election show California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will remain in office. The leading Republican candidate is talk show host Larry Elder, who has an edge in a field of 46 candidates.

In order to win the recall, Newsom needs more than half of Californians to vote "no" on the ballot. For those who vote "yes," a second question asks voters to pick a candidate who they want to replace Newsom.

Aggregated polls from Real Clear Politics show Newsom is leading with over 56% of voters. In a recent poll from Emerson College/Nexstar Media, there were 60% of voters against the recall, while 40% were in support of the recall.

The tightest poll came from the Trafalgar Group, which showed 53.3% would vote "no" and 44.7% would vote "yes" on the recall.

Newsom, 53, has faced seven Republican-backed recall petitions after receiving criticism for his COVID-19 response, including his mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine requirements.

Over 9.1 million pre-election recall ballots have been cast, according to updated Edison Research data. Polls close at 8 p.m. PT.

The hashtag #CaliforniaRecall has been trending on Twitter with many Californians sharing pictures and videos of their voting experience.

Newsom won the 2018 gubernatorial election in a landslide in the left-leaning state. In 2020, President Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump by a 63%-34% margin.

The last time a California Republican won a gubernatorial race was in 2006. The last time a California Republican won a U.S. Senate election was in 1988.