Two real estate executives say they are running against Gov. Gavin Newsom, now that supporters of the effort to recall the first-term governor collected the required 1.5 million signatures to trigger an election.
When state officials made the announcement Monday four Republicans entered the race, including real estate investors John Cox and former Congressman Doug Ose, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cox was the Republican nominee for governor in 2018, losing badly in the general election to Newsom; Cox received 38 percent of the vote to Newom’s 62 percent.
Cox is the sole shareholder and president of Equity Property Management. As of 2018, the firm owned or managed 20 apartment buildings in the Midwest. During his run for governor, Cox argued the state should rely on nonprofits and private companies to find solutions for the state’s homelessness crisis.
He spent $5.7 million of his own money on his candidacy, and overall raised $14.7 million for the race, according to reports. He also self-funded losing campaigns for Congress in 2000, the U.S. Senate in 2002, and for president in 2008.
Ose founded his Sacramento-based company, Ose Properties, in 1976. As a congressman, he represented a suburban district of Sacramento from 1999 to 2005. Ose was known primarily for his strong opposition to taxes, according to the Times. He ran for his old seat in 2014 and narrowly lost. He also ran for governor in 2018 before eventually dropping out.
Caitlyn Jenner also says she is running for governor.
The Republican-led effort to recall Newsom has been vocal about its frustration with the state’s Covid-19 measures, including the governor’s move to impose restrictions on businesses during outbreaks. The petition mentions high taxes, homelessness, Newsom’s moratorium on capital punishment and policies protecting undocumented immigrants among its stated reasons for a recall. Homelessness and the state’s housing crisis were key issues in the 2018 campaign.
Newsom’s job approval rating among likely voters hit an all-time high of around 64 percent in May 2020 but has trended down to about 52 percent as of January, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
[LAT] — Dennis Lynch
The post Real estate execs among challengers in Newsom recall appeared first on The Real Deal Los Angeles.
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