Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Voters To Decide Fate Of Gov. Newsom And His Covid Policies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday will be the first governor in a recall election to face voters divided over Covid-19 restrictions and collectively angry about a pandemic that continues to upend lives nationwide. State leaders around the U.S. have exercised broad authority to try to safeguard the health and well-being of both their residents and economies over the past 18 months, including decisions that have drawn fire from all sides. (Mai-Duc, 9/12)
The polls do not look good for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s foes, led by Larry Elder, the conservative Republican radio host who has emerged as the most prominent challenger likely to lead the field of replacements on Tuesday’s ballot. Over the summer, surveys showed Newsom barely surviving the recall attempt. But now, about 60 percent of California voters say they plan to keep him in office. Newsom earned the ire of more than 2 million voters who signed a recall petition in the year after he issued initial lockdown orders. But the governor has taken an improbable path to his current and far more favorable situation: He has doubled down on his calls for vaccine mandates, mask mandates and for the strictest adherence to public health measures that he says are necessary to protect Californians. (Wilson, 9/12)
KHN: Health Care Unions Defending Newsom From Recall Will Want Single-Payer PaybackÂ
Should Gavin Newsom survive the Republican-driven attempt to oust him from office, the Democratic governor will face the prospect of paying back supporters who coalesced behind him. And the leaders of California’s single-payer movement will want their due. Publicly, union leaders say they’re standing beside Newsom because he has displayed political courage during the covid-19 pandemic by taking actions such as imposing the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order. But behind the scenes, they are aggressively pressuring him to follow through on his 2018 campaign pledge to establish a government-run, single-payer health care system. (Hart, 9/13)
California's recalls are like no other elections. Voters have to decide whether to recall the officeholder — in this case, Gov. Gavin Newsom — and then answer a second ballot question over who should be the replacement. This unorthodox process has had wild outcomes before — it led to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming governor in 2003.Five things to look for in Tuesday's unusual contest. (9/13)
