California State Senator is racking up support to become the Republican Party’s consensus candidate for governor in 2022, but can he actually beat Gov. Gavin Newsom?
With the lopsided result of the 2021 Recall Election, California Republicans have struggled to attract a candidate to run against Gov. Gavin Newsom in the upcoming 2022 election. Now many Republicans have found that candidate in State Senator Brian Dahle - who has formally announced his candidacy for Governor this past week.
While the obstacles to winning statewide are significant, Republicans say that the extreme policies of California Democrats are to blame for the state’s high cost-of-living, skyrocketing crime rates, failing schools, and flight of jobs and workers to other states. They hope those mounting problems may open the door for a surprise result in 2022 - and now they have a candidate to back for Governor in Brian Dahle.
Dahle, a farmer from northern California, previously served for 16 years on the Lassen County Board of Supervisors before joining the State Assembly in 2012. He was then elected to the State Senate in 2019, besting fellow Republican and assemblyman Kevin Kiley — who is running for Congress in the new Republican-leaning third congressional district.
In announcing his candidacy for Governor, Dahle laid out his vision for California where he pledged to address the homeless crisis, stop runaway tax increases, combat rising crime, and reverse the declining quality of life for state residents. He said he would fight to make California better and more affordable, stating that it is “time for change.”
Dahle also stressed that electing a Republican Governor in a state completely dominated by one-party rule under the Democrats would help rebalance the politics of the state.
“We have seen one-party rule with the minority completely shut out,” explained Dahle. “One-party rule leads to what it always leads to, corruption and government dysfunction,” he concluded.
Whereas the 2021 Recall Election saw a number of Republican candidates jockeying against each other, Dahle seems to be unifying the center-right pretty quickly.
Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California and one of the state’s biggest conservative leaders, praised Dahle’s entrance into the race and immediately endorsed him.
“Brian Dahle is a fighter who will clean up the Sacramento Swamp and that’s why I’m proud to endorse Brian Dahle for governor,” said DeMaio.
In announcing his endorsement of Dahle, DeMaio said that while Newsom may have handily beat back the 2021 Recall Election against him, California’s problems have only gotten worse in the past six months and will likely be much worse by the November election.
“Newsom has failed Californians in so many ways, and as the problems in California get worse and worse, we’re gaining ground in key voter groups,” explained DeMaio.
“We’re ready to mobilize our volunteer and voter base to elect Dahle and defeat Newsom and his radical and ineffective policies,” he concluded.
Learn More: Reform California’s Campaign to Defeat Gavin Newsom
Listen to Carl DeMaio and Brian Dahle discuss the 2022 California Governor’s Race at the podcast link below.
Photo Credit: Brian Dahle
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