No Contest

 So, that's it: two hundred seventy-six million dollars later, we here in California have decided to keep our governor. Not a gigantic surprise for those who have become accustomed to the blue-ness of the state over the past couple of decades. The reason for the optimism on the other side was that red break back in 2003. That was when a recall election ousted Democrat Gray Davis and replaced him with first-time Politicking With The Stars contestant Arnold Schwarzenegger. A lot was made over time about the folly of this choice, but history will show that this Republican challenger may have been one of the best Democrats ever to serve the Golden State. He signed into law bills that required health insurance companies to extend to gay partners the same benefits they offer to unmarried heterosexual couples. He allowed the sale of clean needles to slow the spread of AIDS, and he approved an expansion of the state's hate-crimes law to protect transvestites. He approved legislation banning the sale of high-powered .50 caliber BMG rifles over the objection of the California Rifle and Pistol Association. And he has paroled a record 48 murderers serving life sentences. He endorsed tougher auto emissions rules and signed measures to protect the Sierra Nevada and reduce cruise ship pollution.

And, in spite of being the game show host's replacement of one Donald "Jumpy" Trump, he would not support his party's infatuation of the Cheeto Who Would Be King. He went on record as naming 45 as "the worst president ever."  So if we give a pass to the "Governator," we'll just say that there hasn't been a Republican governor of California for a few decades. 

Which is why this moment in time, when voters mailed in more than enough ballots to dismiss talk show host Larry Elder's attempt to unseat Gavin Newsom. It takes more than TV credentials to usurp the dominant paradigm, which turned out to be quite a disappointment for Caitlyn Jenner, an early "threat" to the celebrity version of California politics. Somewhere, Ronald Reagan is spinning in his saddle. 

In the end, Governor Gavin Newsom will remain Governor Gavin Newsom by a healthy margin with two thirds of the vote supporting him. At the end of this contest, I was happy to have backed Newsom, but I kind of wish I would have taken the points.