California

Newsom is seen to be a moderate democrat candidate, and is mainly focused on tackling climate change, homelessness, and gun violence. Dahle supports the 2nd Amendment and is pro-life but would not take away abortion rights in California. He wants to reduce crime and cost of living and increase electricity availability by increasing in-state oil and gas production. In November 2020, Newsom attended a dinner party at a restaurant with other families, contradicting the COVID-19 policies regarding eating out with others that he had implemented. This, along with the fact that Newsom’s children remained in in-person school while most Californian students were required to learn virtually, spurred backlash and a subsequent apology from Newsom. A year later, a recall election was held in California, and Newsom was not recalled. Despite supporting Trump, pro-life rhetoric, and the Second Amendment, Dahle’s beliefs have not been as extreme as some other GOP candidates. He has not amplified claims that the 2020 election was stolen and has largely veered away from being seen as an extreme right-wing candidate. He has mostly criticized Newsom’s background (being a millionaire and businessman), citing his own background as a farmer from rural California and pushing that he is a more relatable candidate. However, Dahle’s efforts may be overshadowed by an incident involving a goat bidding, where he bid hundreds of dollars on a goat that was slaughtered against the wishes of the young girl that raised it. Many Californians still know him primarily from this incident and not his efforts in the gubernatorial election.