California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall vote in five days, has remained silent amid the news that one of his main opponents in the electoral race, African-American KABC radio host Larry Elder, was attacked on a street in Venice Beach, Los Angeles. Newsom's campaign continued to post ads on his social media and made no comment of the incident.
The incident happened as Elder arrived at a homeless encampment in Venice Beach, as a part of his so-called Recall Express bus tour. Homelessness and a lack of affordable housing are two issues in which Elder is dissatisfied with Newsom's policies in California, according to polls.
At the homeless encampment, an unidentified white woman with pink hair wearing a gorilla mask unsuccessfully tried to hit Elder in the head with an egg, before engaging in a brief scuffle with a member of the candidate's security detail as they responded to the attack.
Elder later alleged that his security detail was shot at "with a pellet gun". The radio host, currently polling the highest among Newsom's contenders, said he would continue his campaign despite what he characterized as efforts by an "intolerant left" to stop him.
The attack against Elder was branded "racist" by conservative netizens, with some Republican politicians calling out Democrats and the media over failing to raise concerns over the incident. Texas House Republican Dan Crenshaw, alleged that if Elder had been a Democrat, the Democrats would not be silent about the attempted egging.
"That a black gubernatorial candidate can have eggs thrown at him by a white woman in a gorilla mask, with zero condemnation or coverage, tells you all you need to know about the left and their media allies. Everything is racist. Unless racism is targeted toward a Republican".
With only five days left before the day of the recall election, Californians will be voting on two primary issues: whether to keep Democrat Newsom as their governor and, if not, who will replace him for the remainder of his term. The Democrat faced the recall after an online petition launched in 2020 managed to amass the required 2 million valid signatures to start the procedure. Many Democrats back Newsom in his effort to hold the post, claiming that the recall is a GOP plan to take over California.