Larry Elder still facing racial name-calling following recall election loss

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Sep 16, 2021

Following California’s recall election, Governor Gavin Newsom remains at his post and Larry Elder conceded the race. Over 5 million California voters, 63%, voted to not recall Newsom. But Elder is still recovering from all the names critics called him.

First, Erika Smith of the LA Times wrote “Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy.” Her article came out on August 20th. “You’ve been warned,” she wrote.

Next the President of the United States jumped on the trend. “The leading Republican running for governor (Larry Elder) is the closest thing to a Trump clone that I have ever seen,” President Biden said. Biden appeared at a Newsom Rally the day before the election.

RELATED: Candace Owens: Protester who attacked Larry Elder should be charged with hate crime

Then on the day of the election, MSNBC Contributor Jason Johnson took it a step further on election day. He suggested that Elder wasn’t truly Black, but just in blackface.

“This race was right at the razor’s edge until about three weeks ago when it became less about a referendum on Gavin Newsom and more about a choice between Larry Elder, who’s basically Trumpism in blackface, versus Gavin Newsom who is at least a competent politician,” Johnson said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Elder took the name-calling in stride. Instead, he seemed unbothered about his political future. “”We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war,” Elder said in his concession speech Tuesday. Later, on Wednesday, he tweeted “Only in America can a black person become President or a white supremacist.” However, he also included the foreboding hashtag: #WeveGotACountryToSave.

Elder also used the hashtag on Facebook. “Thank you for the love, California!” his post read. “#WeveGotAStateToSave #WeveGotACountryToSave.”

This was the sixth attempt to recall Newsom but only the first that came to an election. It cost California roughly $276 million to facilitate the recall election, according to state Assembly.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.