**ICYMI**

Last night, President Biden and DNC Chair Jaime Harrison traveled to Long Beach to urge Californians to vote NO in today’s Republican recall election. During the rally, President Biden and DNC Chair Harrison highlighted how Governor Newsom’s leadership has positioned California to beat back the pandemic. Meanwhile, Larry Elder, the leading Republican in the race, wants to undo the progress Governor Newsom has made and has spent the recall campaign spreading dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. As President Biden said, “You either keep Gavin Newsom as your governor or you’ll get Donald Trump.” 

See the coverage of last night’s rally below.

Long Beach Post News: ‘We need courage’: President Joe Biden urges voters to reject recall at LBCC rally

President Joe Biden said at a rally in Long Beach Monday night that now is not the time for politics.

“We need science,” the president said, “We need courage. We need Gov. Gavin Newsom.”

[…]

The president—his first visit to Southern California since defeating former President Donald Trump nearly a year ago—came to support Newsom in the face of a recall election on Tuesday. He flew into Long Beach Airport at about 6:15 p.m. on Air Force One.

Long Beach Press-Telegram: Biden speaks in Long Beach, offers late push for Newsom

With one day of voting left in the California recall, President Joe Biden told a crowd of supporters at Long Beach City College that they should keep Gov. Gavin Newsom in office so he can keep coronavirus at bay, safeguard women’s rights and fight climate change.

“You either keep Gavin Newsom as your governor or you’ll get Donald Trump,” Biden said Monday, Sept. 13, equating leading GOP challenger Larry Elder to the former Republican president.

[…]

Recent polling bodes well for Newsom, with most showing voters opposing the recall. Data on early voting also looks good for the governor, with a Friday update from Political Data Inc. showing Democrats, who largely support Newsom, overperforming in terms of turnout by six percentage points while Republicans, who largely oppose the governor, were underperforming by two points.

KTLA: Biden speaks in Long Beach to support Gov. Newsom as he faces recall, says election results will be felt nationally

President Joe Biden put Democrats’ approach to the coronavirus pandemic on the line Monday, casting the California recall that could remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office as an opportunity for voters to show the nation that “leadership matters, science matters.”

“The eyes of the nation are on California because the decision you’re going to make isn’t just going to have a huge impact on California, it’s going to reverberate around the nation, and quite frankly, not a joke, around the world,” the Democratic president said at a rally in the Southern California city of Long Beach.

POLITICO: Biden: Keep Newsom in office ‘or you’ll get Donald Trump’

LONG BEACH, Calif. — President Joe Biden headlined an ebullient rally Monday night against recalling California Gov. Gavin Newsom that amplified the governor’s casting of the campaign as part of a national struggle.

Speaking on the day before voting concludes, Biden described the recall race as an extension of the 2020 presidential contest. He repeatedly said a Newsom victory would “send a message” to the nation and cast Republican frontrunner Larry Elder as “the closest thing to a Trump clone that I’ve seen in your state,” warning Elder would undermine women’s rights, erode labor protections and blunt California’s battle against climate change.

[…]

Before Biden spoke, Newsom marshaled a phalanx of prominent supporters that included organized labor leaders, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and most of California’s statewide elected officials. The show of force underscored California’s heavily Democratic makeup.

Los Angeles Times: In final campaign push with Newsom, Biden says ‘eyes of the nation’ are on California recall

President Biden joined Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday night for a final campaign stop in Long Beach on the eve of the recall election, lending his firepower to fight against the governor’s possible ouster and underscoring the national importance of defeating the effort.

“California, I’m not sure you know it but if you didn’t know it, you should,” Biden said. “This is not hyperbole: The eyes of the nation are on California. Because the decision you’re about to make isn’t just going to have a huge impact on California, it’s going to reverberate around the nation. And quite frankly, it’s not a joke, around the world.” 

[…]

A pre-show lineup of mariachi music and dignitaries from across Democratic Party ranks — including Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks and state elected officeholders — rallied the crowd of more than 1,000 invited labor representatives, college students and other Democrats at Long Beach City College before the president and governor’s arrival shortly before 7 p.m.