Who Is Larry Elder?

Los Angeles CA

14 September, 2021

4:42 PM

Description

CALIFORNIA — As California's gubernatorial recall election draws to a close, there is little suspense about who will replace Gov. Gavin Newsom if he's recalled. If Newsom goes, the most liberal state in the nation will almost certainly be helmed by firebrand conservative radio host Larry Elder. None of the other 45 recall candidates come close to Elder in the polls. The right-wing provocateur seemingly came out of nowhere to dominate the field almost as soon as his name was added to the slate of candidates. But he almost didn't make it onto the ballot. A Sacramento judge ordered Secretary of State Shirley Weber to add Elder's name to the ballot after Weber argued he didn't meet the state's requirement for candidates to fully disclose their taxes. California's Fair Political Commission led a state investigation into the matter after the state Democratic Party filed a complaint against the talk show host accusing him of misrepresenting his income. Elder filed his income under his own business, Laurance A. Elder & Associates Inc.; the state certified his candidacy afterward. Once he made it onto the ballot, however, Elder soared in the polls. A Berkeley IGS poll released Friday showed Newsom poised to beat the recall, but Elder held a commanding lead among the replacement candidates, with support from 38.5 percent of voters who planned to cast a ballot for a replacement candidate. So who is Larry Elder? Raised in South Los Angeles, Elder attended Crenshaw High School and went on to earn an Ivy League education, studying political science at Brown University. He spent almost his entire career on the airwaves hosting the now nationally syndicated "The Larry Elder Show" on and off since 1993. The show has a huge conservative following, and Elder entered the election with instant name recognition and a pipeline to former President Donald Trump's most die-hard supporters in California. A darling of the right wing, Elder was dogged by controversies on the campaign trail that did little to dampen enthusiasm among his supporters, earning him comparisons to Trump. In the final month of the campaign, he weathered allegations that he brandished a loaded gun against his ex-fiancee. Orrin Heatlie, the former Yolo County sheriff's sergeant who spearheaded the recall effort, came out against Elder. And prominent Republicans urged Elder to drop out after his former fiancee accused him of pulling out a loaded gun during a spat. But voters didn't appear to hold it against him, according to a spate of polls. When his provocative commentary came back to haunt him, he emerged unscathed. He surged in the polls after quotes surfaced in which he claimed women were uninformed voters and that slave owners should receive reparations for losing their property after slavery was abolished. Like Trump, Elder has a knack for stealing the spotlight and dominating headlines. Once he started leading in the polls, few of his rivals on the right could compete for dominance. Though he proved to be the candidate of Trump's base, he did not win the endorsement of the California Republican Party. Elder did earn the support of many allies of Trump, including lawyer Rudy Giuliani and speechwriter Stephen Miller. Last week, Trump implied it would be proof of a rigged election if a Republican such as Elder didn't oust Newsom. "It's probably rigged," Trump told Newsmax last week. "Nobody's going to win except these Democrats. The one thing they are good at is rigging elections, so I predict it's a rigged election." There is no evidence of fraud in the election so far. Across the aisle, Democratic operatives appear to savor Elder's divisive candidacy. His emergence as the front-runner was credited with firing up Newsom's base. President Joe Biden lambasted Elder while campaigning in California Monday on Newsom's behalf. "He's leading the other team. He's the clone of Donald Trump," Biden said. "Can you imagine him being governor of the state? You can't let that happen." What Does Larry Elder Stand For? "I am a small 'l' libertarian" Elder told CalMatters. ""The biggest challenge in California in general is the intrusiveness of government. I believe that a government that governs less governs best." In that vein, he came out against a state minimum wage, mask and vaccine mandates, public schools, welfare programs, state-funded health insurance and workplace discrimination laws protecting pregnant women, he told CalMatters. He does support the legalization of drugs and school vouchers. Though governing in a state with a Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature would be a challenge for any Republican, Elder campaigned on his promise to appoint conservative judges, board members and even a senator if an opening arose. Patch Staffer Kat Schuster contributed to this report.