What Went Down At The California Recall Election: Live Results

In the end, perhaps the biggest reason why Newsom won is that voters generally think he’s doing a good job as governor. Per the exit polls, Newsom’s job approval rating is at about 55 percent, with 43 percent disapproving. This is important because according to the exit polls, 97 percent of voters who approve of Newsom voted “No” on the recall.

That’s a big difference compared to the 2003 recall election, where exit polls estimated Davis’s approval rating at just 26 percent, with 73 percent disapproving. The effort to recall him from office prevailed by double digits.