Elder supporters vow to continue fight after Newsom defeats recall effort

The Republican-led effort to recall California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom cost taxpayers close to $300 million. But it was defeated by nearly a two-to-one margin, and Newsom gets to keep his job.

"I want to focus on what we said 'yes' to as a state. We said 'yes' to science. We said 'yes' to vaccines. We said 'yes' to ending this pandemic. We said 'yes' to people's right to vote without fear of fake fraud or voter suppression. We said 'yes' to women's fundamental constitutional right to decide for herself -- what she does with her body, her fate, and future. We said 'yes' to diversity," Newsom declared.

The victory was celebrated by Filipino American Democrats who spent time campaigning for the governor. For Nathaniel Epstein, chair of the Fil-Am Democratic Caucus of the California Democratic Party, "this is a valiant victory across the state, and this is a testament to Governor Newsom's leadership and the Filipino American will to continue a Democratic California."

Meanwhile, the frontrunner contender, Republican Larry Elder, also got some support from Fil-Ams who attended what was supposed to be his victory party. While the election night results did not favor Elder and his supporters, they say their fight has only just begun.  

"The momentum for the movement is gonna grow because I've watched all the grassroots groups start working together and this time around, this fifth attempt at a recall, we got so many independents and democrats becoming a part of our family," Fil-Am conservative Marc Ang said. "So it's really a post-partisan coalition now that even if it doesn’t win this time, we’ll probably win next year."

Another Elder supporter Mitch Lozada also asserted, "we lost the battle but there's still the 2022 elections and general elections coming in 2024."

Elder himself is unfazed by Newsom's victory. "We recognize that we lost the battle but we are certainly going to win the war. We are forcing them now to pay attention to the problem of homelessness. We are forcing them now to do a better job in schools. We are forcing them now to do a better job on clearing our forest. We are forcing them now to pay attention to things they should have paid attention to two years ago," Elder said.