I’ve made no secret of my support for Larry Elder. If I were still in California, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat. He’s intelligent and deeply principled, and California is in very bad shape. The good news is that I’m not the only one who likes Larry. It turns out that a lot of Californians are relieved that Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner isn’t the only alternative to Gavin Newsom.

According to an Emerson College/Nexstar Media poll, there’s bad news for Newsom and good news for Elder. With the election coming up in September, currently, 43% of voters want to recall Newsom, while 48% want to keep him in office. If Newsom continues to re-lockdown the state, those numbers can be expected to get much closer – and the 9% of undecided voters will follow the trend.

Even more damaging for Newsom is the fact that, while a lot of voters aren’t enthused about kicking him out early, a large majority (58%) wouldn’t vote for him when he runs for reelection in 2022. Moreover, a plurality of voters gave Newsom a grade of “poor” on key issues: COVID, droughts, wildfires, and the homeless. If Newsom cherished any ideas of jumping from California to the White House, he’d better put those dreams aside.

And what about Larry Elder? It’s clear that those voters who want to get Newsom out, to the extent they’re thinking ahead, are most excited at the prospect of getting Larry in:

On the question of who they would vote for if Newsom was recalled, a majority (53%) of voters are undecided on a candidate. Within the field of candidates that currently have support, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder leads at 16%, followed by businessman John Cox, at 6%, and former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, at 6%. California State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, and former Olympian and television personality Caitlyn Jenner are at 4% each. Social media influencer Kevin Paffrath is at 2%, with the remaining 8% of voters opting to vote for someone else.

The big question to ask about Elder at this point is “What can he do if he gets into office?” The current legislature is, as it has been for a long time, a Democrat supermajority, which means that, if all the Democrats vote together, they are veto-proof.

Elder will certainly be able to roll back Newsom’s draconian lockdown policies but, when it comes to other matters. he may find himself mostly cheerleading conservative policies in the state, along with vetoing the occasional bill that isn’t veto-proof for some reason or other. He may also have some sway as a voting member of the Regents of the University of California.

And of course, Elder has the power to affect the humongous bureaucracy in California. Appointments to lead those agencies could result in significant policy changes that benefit California. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger thought he could change the bureaucracy, but it changed him, turning him from a soft Republican into a RINO. This time around, I believe Elder is made of stronger stuff and has firmer principles.

In the meantime, it’s time to think up a campaign slogan. Dwight Eisenhower scored hugely with Irving Berlin’s simple three-world slogan: “I like Ike.” While there’s nothing good to rhyme with Larry, “I like Larry” has a great alliterative quality. I’m going for it!

IMAGE: I like Larry button by Andrea Widburg

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