Californians gather signatures for governor recall election

Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor of California 0:43

(CNN) -

Californians hoping to impeach Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom gathered the minimum number of valid signatures to push for a recall election this fall.

County officials have verified 1,626,042 signatures, according to the California secretary of state's website.

Supporters of the revocation needed at least 1,495,709 valid signatures to be eligible for it, representing 12% of the votes cast in the last state gubernatorial election.

Newsom, for his part, has mounted a political offensive to fight the impeachment, saying the effort is a partisan attempt by Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump to wrest power from his Democratic-majority state.

"It is what it is.

It's a Republican recall, ”Newsom said in an exclusive interview with CNN before the latest signature count.

"A Republican impeachment endorsed by the Republican National Committee of white supremacists, anti-Semites and people who oppose immigration and immigrants is an accurate assessment of who is behind this impeachment."

Although the impeachment effort began long before the pandemic, Newsom's restrictive response appears to have fueled the effort.

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Officials will continue to verify signatures until April 29.

After that, any voter who has signed the impeachment petition will have 30 days to reconsider their support and withdraw their signature.

Revocation elections could take place in August or December.

Some of the candidates have already declared their intention to run, from Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympian and reality TV star, to established Republicans like former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

California's recall process, with its low threshold for running for office, hopes to attract many applicants.

By law, Newsom cannot add your name to the ballot.

In the last recall of the state governor, in 2003, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced Democratic Gov. Gray Davis after being recalled by voters.

California United States Elections