Kevin Faulconer steps out of governor's race

Former San Diego mayor announced he won’t run for governor this year, after last year’s unsuccessful recall campaign

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 decison 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.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2022-03-11/kevin-faulconer-steps-out-of-governors-race

Faulconer was touted as the "reasonable" Republican candidate in the recall election last year. With him dropping out this early in the season, it means the race for the Republican nomination is wide open for whatever lunatic chooses to run.