California Democratic Governor Newsom 'worried,' says recall on him likely to qualify

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he's worried about the effort to recall him as governor and acknowledged the motion would likely qualify for the ballot.

"Am I worried about it?" the Democratic governor said Tuesday on ABC-TV's "The View." "Of course, I'm worried about it. The nature of these things, the up or down question, the zero-sum nature of the question is challenging ... so we're taking it seriously."

The deadline for the recall effort is Wednesday. Should the recall motion reach the ballot, it would trigger a special election, which would likely be held in November. Organizers of the recall effort need 1.5 million valid signatures, and as of Tuesday had collected roughly 2 million signatures. 

The recall effort is largely in response to the coronavirus pandemic, marked by high virus numbers despite strict rules on the opening of businesses and schools. Voters really turned on Newsom in November 2020 upon learning he had attended  a dinner at a fancy French restaurant in Napa in apparent violation of the virus health-safety protocols he set forth for the state.

Newsom has faced six recall petitions in the past 25 months, none of which qualified for the ballot.