CALIFORNIA—On Wednesday, February 3, Doug Ose, former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives indicated he is considering a possible run for governor of California.
Ose, who represented California’s 3rd district from 1999 to 2005, criticized Governor Gavin Newsom’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and supports recall efforts against him, telling KCRA 3 that Newsom “has shown himself to be incompetent at establishing a plan” to “reopen the economy and get kids in school — period, end of story. That is grounds for recall.”
Ose ran for governor in 2018, but suspended his campaign after not having enough money. He has been using his Twitter account to criticize Newsom and is using #RecallGavinNewsom in support of recall attempts.
On January 15, 2021, Ose tweeted:
“How long will it be before #California Legislature exercises its leadership responsibilities and corrects the mess @GavinNewsom has created with #COVID19 #vaccine distribution? People are dying and our legislative leaders are silent. No more excuses. #RecallGavinNewsom.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Ose got his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California-Berkeley in 1981.
He is currently the Chairman of the Rebuild California Foundation, which examines “issues affecting the everyday life of Californians and to educate citizens about what solutions may exist for these problems” and has a “vision” to make CA “the Golden State once again,” as noted on its website.
The “Recall Gavin Newsom” campaign announced on February 4 that it reached 1.4 million signatures (they need 1,495,709 signatures to trigger a special election). The deadline to submit the signatures is March 17.
Ose has not made a final decision yet, but former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, also a Republican revealed that he will run for governor in 2022.
In a video, Faulconer announced his campaign on February 1, said “it’s time for a California comeback” and tweeted that Governor Newsom’s “broken promises have become our problems” and said his leadership “is failing our state.”
On January 25, film producer Errol Webber also announced he was running for CA governor in 2022.
He tweeted that Governor Newsom “does not care about anyone but himself” and said California “needs a Governor who will work for ALL of the people once again.”
In a February 4 tweet, Webber said that condemning Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia “is condemning all of us.” He said “she’s hated because she speaks up like we do” and said “they don’t just hate her” but also “hate us.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Webber was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2022 and a candidate for Congress. In 2008, he graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts.
The primaries will be held on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The CA gubernatorial election will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
