What Final Official Recall Election Results Mean for the Future

The full, final and official statewide results of California’s recall election are in.

And the number of votes for and against Governor Gavin Newsom are almost exactly what the numbers were in 2018 when he was elected governor. In the recall election last month, 61.9% of the state's voters supported Newsom, while 38.1% voted against him. The same margin it was three years ago.

But according to the recall election map of all 58 counties in the state, some things did change. Gov Newsom lost some support among white voters without a college degree, but he had big gains among white voters with a college degree.

He also lost some support compared to 2018 among Latino and Black voters. In nearby Imperial County, where 85 percent of the population is Latino, along with three Central Valley counties where 54 percent of the population is Latino, the margin for Newsom was lower than three years ago.

But his support in Orange County grew, a county which has been historically more conservative in the past but has been turning more blue than red in recent elections.

So, what do all these numbers from the recall election mean? They mean the election a year from now in November of 2022 could mean a much tougher battle for Gavin Newsom. And it likely means Republicans will try to widen their support among Latinos who now represent 39.4 percent of the state’s population, and now the largest single racial or ethnic group in California.

(Photo Getty Images)