California announced that Gov. Gavin Newsom will face a recall election on Sept. 14, as the threshold of 1.5 million signatures was met and confirmed last week.

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis set the date for the election, and if the recall is successful, the chosen candidate will serve out the remainder of Gov. Newsom’s term through Jan 2, 2023.

“This is a ragtag crew of pro-Trump, anti-vaccine extremists, along with some ambitious Republican politicians who would like to be governor,” a Newsom spokesperson said in December, 2020. “I don’t think it’s something anyone wants. I’d be surprised if Californians wanted to spend the extra money and have another election the following year.”

The recall ballot will ask Californians two questions; the first being if the voter believes Gov. Newsom should be recalled, and the second asking to pick a successor from a list of candidates.

One of those candidates, John Cox, who ran against Newsom in the 2018 elections, has been critical of the governor’s handling of the pandemic and went as far as calling him corrupt.

“The people are tired of corruption and politicians who don’t deliver,” Cox said in a statement. “California needs big, beastly change. It comes on September 14th.”

In a recent survey conducted by Berkeley IGS, one of the largest state surveyors, 49% of 10,289 people said they do not want a recall, while 36% were in favor and 15% were undecided. The number of people against the recall increased since their previous survey, where only 45% said no, 36% said yes and 19% were undecided.

Former mayor of San Diego Kevin Faulconer, another notable candidate in the race, said “The people have spoken.”

“This movement is powered by Californians from every community,” Faulconer said in a statement Thursday. “Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Change is coming for California and retirement is coming for Gavin Newsom.”

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