SAN DIEGO — Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer won’t run for governor this year after an unsuccessful campaign to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in last year’s recall election.
Faulconer announced the decision in a statement Thursday night, one day before the deadline to file nomination papers for the office.
“I appreciate all the encouragement I’ve received, but I know that now is not the right time,” Faulconer stated. “California’s problems are solvable. Until we fix our state at the top, I know that we can continue to make progress city by city, community by community. Thank you all.”
The effort to recall Newsom in September ended with little hope for his opponents, when the governor held his seat with nearly 62 percent of the vote. Faulconer finished third in a field of 46 candidates with 8 percent of the vote, behind Republican talk radio host Larry Elder with 48.4 of replacement votes and Democratic YouTube personality Kevin Paffrath with 9.6 percent.
Although Faulconer didn’t reference fundraising in his announcement Thursday, state campaign finance records reveal the massive funding gap he would have faced if he chose to run in November.
Newsom’s battle to stay in office was bolstered by $73 million in spending against the recall drive, and his 2022 campaign has a cash balance of nearly $25 million, according to the California Secretary of State.
By contrast, Faulconer spent $2.7 million on his drive to replace Newsom and has a cash balance this year of $54,489, the Secretary of State reported.
Faulconer was elected to the San Diego City Council in a special election in 2006. He won the mayor’s office following the departure of disgraced former Mayor Bob Filner in 2014 and served in that position until 2020.
While Democrats framed the recall election as a referendum on former President Donald Trump, Faulconer cast himself as a commonsense conservative focused on homelessness, business and public safety.
In his departure message he reprised his appeal to the political middle, but blamed the theatrics of the recall for his departure.
“It’s harder than ever before to get ahead in California,” he stated. “We all know it, which is why a majority of Californians believe our state is on the wrong track. I want to run for governor to change this, but the lingering effects of the circus that unfolded toward the end of last year’s recall make it extremely difficult to relaunch the type of campaign I would want to run.”
--------
