New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is leaving office. Good. He has been a disgrace.
His awful performance managing the Coronavirus led to the slaughter of elderly New Yorkers, and his subsequent coverup should land him in prison.
But, with Cuomo gone, let’s turn our attention to another large state Democratic governor and former rising star of the Left: Gavin Newsom of California.
Newsom is fighting for his political life right now. His recall election in a month may very well lead to something that would have been inconceivable a couple years ago.
Voters may elect a right wing, America First governor in deeply blue California.
That’s a compelling possibility. It is a truly exciting prospect for America’s largest state.
Yet, that is only part of the story.
The more important element of the potential Newsom recall is the fact that Hispanic-American voters in the Golden State will likely determine the fate of their current governor.
Recent polling in California suggests this election will be a photo finish as the race tightens.
The latest survey by the University of California Berkeley reports a pro-Newsom margin among likely voters, 50% to 47% in favor of retention.
Likewise, a recent California Politics/Emerson College poll similarly shows that Newsom has a slim 2% lead right now.
What explains this sudden Newsom vulnerability?
The answer is largely the turn in Hispanic citizens' voting habits.
That Emerson poll reveals that 54% of Hispanics in California favor a recall.
Now, beyond California, such findings represent the latest evidence of the massive, tectonic movement of Hispanics going to the political right broadly and to the America First movement, more specifically.
What policies are driving this Hispanic aversion to Newsom and his failed agenda?
I see three primary issues:
1. Lockdowns and the Economy
Gov. Newsom has inflicted some of the harshest, most unscientific lockdown restrictions in America.
While he himself enjoyed an indoor meal at the swanky French Laundry in wine country, where lobbyists picked up the $15,000 liquor tab, Newsom shut down the massive hospitality sector of California last year.
That industry represents a literal lifeline for millions of California Hispanics, many of whom work hard in hotels, kitchens, and resorts.
Newsom’s pals in Silicon Valley did just fine with the lockdowns. In fact, the titans of Big Tech saw their fortunes swell as people trapped in their homes were forced to live virtual lives of e-commerce and endless screen time.
Salad days for Google and Facebook, but a nightmare for working-class Hispanics in California who could not work remotely.
Adding insult to injury, the governor’s own children continued to attend in-person private school.
This occured even as middle- and lower-income Hispanic children were forced into online learning.
That state-mandated "virtual schooling" exacerbated the existing skills and learning gap between the elites of California and the children of the working-class.
2. The Border
Contrary to the mainstream media narrative, Hispanic-Americans are not soft on border security issues.
At the height of the 2018 border crisis, an Economist/YouGov poll reported that just 20% of Hispanic-Americans supported the policy of “catch and release” of illegal migrants crossing into America with children.
But, even more important than polling, consider the change at the ballot box toward President Trump that we have seen in highly Hispanic areas located near the southern border.
On the US-Mexico border, Starr County, Texas, is the most Hispanic county in all of America at 96% Latino. The vote there moved an astounding 55% in favor of Trump from the 2016 to 2020 election.
Additionally, Imperial County, which is on the border of California and Mexico, is a gritty, blue collar place that is 80% Hispanic.
From 2016 to 2020, Trump almost doubled his raw vote total. He gained an incredible 17% on margin.
Yes, border issues are primarily federal affairs, but Newsom has increased the fallout from porous border policies.
His "sanctuary state" provisions that allow dangerous illegals to hide in plain sight in California have been particularly dangerous.
Hispanics pay the steepest price for such radicalism in California.
Just look at the story of the young mother named Sandra Duran. She was killed in cold blood by Estuardo Alvarado.
Alvarado had been previously deported five times. He had a total of 22 convictions in America.
Despite that track record, he was released by Los Angeles County, but not to federal agents for deportation. Alvardo was sent back into the community.
That decision, which occurred under Gov. Newsom’s watch, led to Sandra’s tragic death.
Duran’s sister, L.A. police officer Lisa Morales, observed that “it’s sad and it’s unfortunate” but “it’s going to happen not just to my family but to other families.”
3. Culture
Gov. Newsom represents an exaggerated example of the Democratic Party's extreme stance on social issues, one that is totally inhospitable to the more traditionally minded Hispanic community in America.
Pew Research reports that the largely Catholic and Evangelical Hispanic population of America is far more pro-life than whites.
That polling showed that 61% of whites believe that abortion should be legal in most/all circumstances, only 44% of Hispanics concur.
Many Hispanics recoil, then, at Newsom’s directive requiring California’s state universities to provide abortions to young women, and his open invitation to visit California for the explicit purpose of obtaining abortions.
In addition, Newsom championed a radical “Ethnic Studies Curriculum” that is now required for all California high school students.
The mandate predictably involves leftist narratives that aren't education, but rather indoctrination of students into the notion that America is an oppressive country founded on bigotry.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that Newsom’s “curriculum makes the radical ‘1619 project’ look moderate and balanced.”
So, as we look to the California recall election on September 14, keep an eye on the Hispanic vote. It may well provide the latest evidence of the macro-shift to the political right for Hispanics in America.
Steve Cortes, a former Trump presidential advisor, commentator, and financial expert, co-hosts "Cortes & Pellegrino" on Newsmax. Read More Here.
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