Larry Elder is the annoying candidate who won’t go away in the governor’s recall election in California.

He keeps gaining endorsements from the most unlikely liberal quarters typically reserved for the sitting governor, Gavin Newsom (D-CA). Recently former Democratic leader on the California State Senate Gloria Romero surprised the most “progressive” faction in her circle by throwing her support behind candidate Elder.

She is a big proponent of education and has watched the sunshine state sink in national academic ratings to new depths for decades. “I chose Larry Elder I think largely because of his understanding of education,” she told the Federalist. “He has spoken eloquently on the failure of the education system and why school choice is so important, especially for communities of color.”

This is considered a nightmare endorsement by the formidable 300,000 members of the California Teachers Association (CTA), one of the most powerful unions in the state. Many of those union members have expressed the viewpoint that they would like Elder to “keep his loud mouth shut,” a sentiment indelicately expressed by more than one teacher on social media.

Keeping quiet isn’t his style. The candidate has an impressive memory and the teachers’ union wasn’t spared his recitation of facts and figures to explain the shameful downward spiral of government-run schools. “It is estimated by virtually every expert I talk to that a minimum of 5 percent of (CTA teachers) are incompetent,” Elder was quoted saying in the Wall Street Journal. “That’s 15,000 teachers walking through the corridors of our schools, educating our kids.”

Elder is known to rhetorically ask in interviews: “Where do you think the worst teachers end up?” Hispanic and African-American parents are acutely aware of the answer, along with supporting Elder’s position to assist parents who don’t want their children to return to urban schools.

He supports a “School Choice” initiative scheduled on the ballot in November 2022 “allowing parents to use taxpayer dollars that would normally go to zoned public schools for private school tuition, homeschooling and other education related expenses.”

Needless to say, the CTA members remain loyal supporters of Newsom, who opposes school-choice initiatives. Elder is quick to point out the governor doesn’t have to worry about the dismal state of public education for his own children. They attend private schools.

If the polls are any indication, Elder is winning over unlikely Hispanic and African-American voters on an array of issues well known to disgusted taxpayers who face unprecedented homelessness and continued infiltration of crime in their suburbs.

“The first thing I would do as governor,” says Elder, “is to declare a state of emergency on homelessness,” indicating that California has become home to the homeless. He suggested building low-cost housing and offering treatment for the major issue causing homelessness: substance abuse.

Elder has been likened to the “Where’s Waldo” character in children’s books because he is seemingly popping up all over the state addressing the most pressing issues. That includes meeting farmers in Kern County to discuss drought conditions plaguing the state. Environmentalists would most likely oppose Elder’s second-state-of-emergency proposal on water shortages. His plan is to expand California’s infrastructure to conserve large amounts of fresh water that are flushed out to the sea, repair the structural integrity of dams, prioritize water distribution to farmers, etc.

Elder makes it clear to voters that Gov. Newsom’s “leftist” agenda runs completely counter to his own legislative goals. Chief among them is Elder asserting that Gov. Newsom in 2014, then lieutenant governor, contributed to the increase in crime by backing a ballot measure that essentially handed shoplifters the keys to the retail kingdom.

“You can now steal up to $950 without being guilty of a felony if you get caught,” Elder said in the Wall Street Journal article. “If you get caught, you get a ticket as a misdemeanor.” Many voters are well aware of who will be paying the increased prices for such blatant thefts, knowing the domino effect of decriminalizing crime.

“And by the way, it’s not just $950,” adds Elder, “It’s $950 every single day, at every single place, which is why you’re finding places like Walmart, Target that are closing up because they can’t make any money, because people are stealing.” The zip codes spell out the high-crime rate areas. And the increased closures of retail outlets.

Ardent supporters of Elder enjoy his pragmatic (just-the-facts) approach to summing up the destructive politics driving out record numbers of businesses and residents from the state. His unapologetic style of campaigning has made him a target by the leftist media vying in lock-step formation to support Newsom.

“I must be doing something right,” Elder says as he watches the leftist media become more unhinged as the campaign enters its final weeks. His personal favorite for pointing out the grossly absurd attempt to smear him was a headline in the Los Angeles Times that made headlines: “Larry Elder is the Black Face of White Supremacy.”

The biggest takeaway from the article is quotes from a Black Lives Matter leader recycling insults against the candidate, but not citing specifically why his proposals as a candidate make him a racist. Elder suggests that such ludicrous smear tactics indicate his opponents are “scared to death” of a conservative who presents the unlikely possibility of bringing down the once impregnable “Blue Wall” supporting Gov. Newsom’s “incompetent” administration.

Image: Gage Skidmore

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