It appears that in large numbers, Californians agree with the governor’s judgment, and furthermore, his approach towards the Pandemic.

While the Pandemic may not be the only reason for Newsom’s return to legitimacy, voters appeared to say – with a huge Democratic swarm of votes – that it was the most important, and in light of mask mandates and mandated vaccinations, they confirmed Newsom’s handling of COVID-19.

Still, many voters simply weren’t feeling the positive vibes or the exuberance of a Democratic landslide. What had been months of optimism for California Republicans, on election night, turn sour after suffering an almost cataclysmic Republican loss.

While Democrats were doubling down on their landslide win, over much of the state, there were still pockets of resistance to Democratic values, particularly in the Central Valley. As has been the political custom for decades now, Central Valley voters, particularly in Kings, Tulare, and Kern counties, once again took that “right” fork in the road.

If Kings County’s voters had their way, at least the ones that bothered to vote, their governor, they hoped, should have been unceremoniously voted from office without so much of a thank you.

Instead, the lopsided win cemented Newsom’s positive standing in this state and gave him somewhat of national standing.

Most Kings County voters – and the state’s Republican voters – decided to take a different direction, overwhelmingly voting for conservative talk show host Larry Elder.

Kings County, a small county, resting smack in the center of California in what has been for the past decade a “blue” solidly Democratic state, didn’t have much to say about the matter. Out of 61,879 registered Kings County voters, only 38.33% of them even took the time to vote (21,459 votes by mail) or actually cast a ballot on election day (2,260 residents).

Kings County voters, of course, voted yes on the main recall decision. Kings County’s ballots clearly went to Larry Elder, who captured over 65% of the county’s votes – exactly 11,525 of them. No Republican managed to come close to Elder’s totals. Even John Cox, the Republican standard-bearer for governor in 2018, failed to keep up, finishing with just 1,003 Kings County votes.

Former Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jennifer received 214 Kings County votes.

A perusal of the California Secretary of State’s website reveals that Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t have a lot to worry about. The first-term Democratic governor won a resounding victory over a slate of candidates hoping for an electoral miracle – something that wasn’t about to happen considering the “blueness” of the California electorate.

In other words, California remains reliably blue while Newsom gets to complete his term. Buoyed by the overwhelming support of Californian voters, Newsom will most certainly campaign for a second term.

Statewide, Governor Newsom won a virtual landslide, collecting 63.9% of the vote on Tuesday night. The “no” vote, which meant Newsom survived the recall, was favored by 5,841,689 Californians. Compare that to the 3,298,988 Californians that wanted him out. Certainly, that’s a lot of people, but in electoral terms, Newsom, indeed, clobbered the opposition Tuesday night.

How did he win so decisively?

As Covid deaths, sparked by the Delta variant, spiked in Republican states like Texas and Florida, where restrictions and vaccine mandates saw dramatic increases, a large majority of California citizens affirmed that the governor has done an admirable job, acting quickly and smartly to battle the spread of COVID-19.

That well may be why voters overwhelmingly voted against the recall Tuesday night. Newsom took charge, implementing mask mandates, and he told California voters what they needed to hear. Voters believed in his message, that science, tight restrictions, and vaccinations were key to California’s success in light of the Pandemic.