California GOP senator launches longshot bid for governor

A little-known Republican state legislator from Northern California has launched a longshot campaign to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom

California Governor (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A little-known California Republican legislator announced a longshot campaign Tuesday to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom just months after Newsom handily defeated a recall election that sought to remove him from office.

Sen. Brian Dahle, who represents a sprawling district in Northern California faulted the state’s dominant Democrats for an unchecked homelessness crisis, rising crime rates, hefty taxes and a decaying quality of life. But he also acknowledged the odds against him in a heavily Democratic state, calling it a “David versus Goliath” confrontation.

And in another nod to the challenges of running an underdog campaign, he pleaded with supporters to contribute as little as $1 a day to his effort.

“If you get four more years of this dictator, it will cost you a lot more,” he said, alluding to the governor. “It’s time for change.”

With Newsom fresh off his victory in the recall in September and sitting on a multimillion-dollar campaign account, Republicans have so far been unable to attract a prominent candidate to challenge him — and appear unlikely to do so.

The campaign poses little risk for Dahle, who represents a largely rural, conservative northeast corner of the state, far from the liberal power centers of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area He’s not on the ballot in this year’s elections, and he can’t run for reelection in 2024 because of term limits. But it gives Republicans a chance to have someone on the ballot against Newsom, at the top of the ticket.

Dahle, a farmer, was on the Lassen County Board of Supervisors for 16 years before being elected to the state Assembly in 2012. He was elected to the state Senate in 2019. Megan Dahle replaced her husband in the Assembly. The couple lives in Bieber, where they have two sons and a daughter.