As he comes under greater scrutiny, Elder seems to have more tightly controlled his access in recent days. He agreed to an interview with POLITICO, then rescheduled and then canceled this week. During his first press conference Friday, he only took questions from Chinese-language media.

Elder has focused his attacks on Newsom and largely ignored other Republicans, saying he would debate the governor one-on-one but declining to join GOP debates. He launched a new round of ads this week in which he speaks directly to the camera, telling voters that Newsom is an "elite dictator" who "abused power" during the pandemic.