Hi, I'm Dan Pramack, and welcome to Axios Recap, presented by General Motors. Today's Tuesday, April 27th.

The congressional power of red states is up. The congressional power of blue states is down,

and we're focused on a recall election in California.

California state officials yesterday announced that an effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom

has secured the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot, with a statewide

vote likely by year end. Why it matters is twofold. First, because California's governor

is charged with leading not just America's

largest state by population, but also the world's fifth largest economy. Second, because

successful statewide recalls are extremely rare. In fact, only two governors have ever been recalled

in the history of the country, North Carolina's governor in 1921, and California's governor

in 2003, when Gray Davis was booted and Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected. That latter one,

it was mostly due to an electricity price controversy, partially tied to Enron, whereas Newsom's

current troubles mostly relate to his COVID-19 policies. And just to be clear, Gavin Newsom hasn't yet been recalled.

It's just there will be a vote to recall him, during which California citizens will also

be asked to pick a replacement if the recall is successful.

The bottom line, California's chief executive is about to face the voters, two years earlier

than he had expected.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper into the reasons for the recall, and if anyone, such as Caitlin

Jenner, has a legitimate shot of winning with Phil Willan of the LA Times.

But first, this.

We're joined now by Phil Willan, who covers the governor's office and state politics for the

LA Times.

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