NEWPORT BEACH (CNS) - A Newport Beach-based effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a milestone of 1 million signatures, organizers announced today.
Organizers need about 1.8 million signatures by mid-March to qualify the recall for the ballot, said Anne Hyde Dunsmore, a former finance chair of the California Republican Party who is an honorary chair of Rescue California, which is gathering signatures for the recall effort.
The campaign's goal is 2 million signatures, Dunsmore said.
Organizers hope a recall election will be held in late August or mid-September, Dunsmore said.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and John Cox, who lost to Newsom in 2018, are among the potential candidates to replace Newsom, Dunsmore said.
On Monday, the organization received 12,000 letters from voters who responded to a direct-mail campaign, Dunsmore said.
“There had to be 20,000 signatures in there,'' she said.
The campaign also received a big boost with a $500,000 donation from Orange County investor John Kruger.
The campaign has received many large donations such as $49,000 from the Carol and Dixon Doll Family Foundation, according to the California Secretary of State's Office. Douglas Leone of Los Altos donated $49,900 and Edward Brown of Word and Brown donated $25,000, according to the state records.
The Hoffmann Land Development Company of Walnut Creek donated $49,500, Susan Groff $45,000 and Brian Cereghino, CEO of IPAC Inc., donated $20,000.
“One million frustrated Californians have signed the official recall petition,'' said Tom Del Beccaro, chairman of the recall campaign. “We are two-thirds of the way to giving voters the opportunity to choose a new governor and a new direction for the state.''
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