Democrats see a midterm map in California recall success

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Few Democrats are surprised to see Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom swat down a Republican-driven recall campaign in bright-blue California. But they are pleased with how he did it. Democrats say that by making the race into a referendum on former President Donald Trump and his supporters’ “extreme” resistance to coronavirus precautions, Newsom offered a formula for survival that could translate to dozens of races in next year’s midterm elections. For their part, Republicans dismiss the contest as irrelevant to their chances of winning in battleground states next year.