President Joe Biden took a victory lap Wednesday after Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom easily won his recall race.
'This vote is a resounding win for the approach that he and I share to beating the pandemic: strong vaccine requirements, strong steps to reopen schools safely, and strong plans to distribute real medicines - not fake treatments - to help those who get sick,' Biden said in a statement.
Biden had traveled to Long Beach, California Monday night for an election eve rally on behalf of Newsom, who at one point looked in danger of being ousted by California Republicans.
President Joe Biden took a victory lap Wednesday after California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom easily won his recall race
Biden credited Newsom's win with the governor's support for 'strong vaccine requirements, strong steps to reopen schools safely, and strong plans to distribute real medicines - not fake treatments - to help those who get sick'
Biden (left) traveled to Long Beach, California on Monday to headline an election eve rally in support of Newsom (right)
The tide had turned, however, when Newsom had a defined candidate to run against: conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder, who threatened to roll-back COVID protocols, such as Newsom's mandate for state workers to get vaccinated or else face weekly testing.
Biden dubbed Elder a 'Trump clone' and feared he could follow in the steps of other Republican governors by rolling back COVID-19 safeguards.
'We saw the Delta surge as a real inflection moment in this campaign. I think it was a turning point for us,' Newsom's campaign adviser Sean Clegg told reporters Monday. 'What Delta brought into clear, clear focus was what the stakes are in this election. When one party has basically become an anti-science, anti-vaccine, anti-public health party.'
'Our message and endgame here reduced to a single sentence: a vote for this recall is a vote for a pro-Trump, anti-vaxx Republican governor who is going to reverse vaccine mandates on day one,' Clegg said.
Vaccine mandates are popular in the state with 61 per cent of California adults in favor of some kind
