As I reported Sunday, the preliminary list of candidates for the September 14 Gavin Newsom Recall election was posted on the California Secretary of State’s website, and political pundit, radio personality, and late-entry candidate for governor Larry Elder’s name was not listed. I stated that this was not the final list and that no information was revealed on the Whys of his exclusion, but if things were not adequately cleared up it could portend the end of his campaign.

We soon found out the WHY: Democrat “shenanigans” as Larry Elder called it. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who happens to be a (very recent) Newsom appointee, decided that tax returns Elder produced were not in compliance with the law, and therefore she could disqualify him from the ballot. Weber sent a letter to Elder’s campaign Sunday afternoon, even though the news that he did not make the ballot was already trending on Saturday night!

Did I tell you that Shirley Weber was appointed? Her moves reflect the bidding of her masters. Elder called this out in a lengthy tweet thread on Monday:

Shortly thereafter, they shared the letter sent to my campaign manager with the media. Our lawyers tell us that no candidate has ever been previously disqualified due to redaction issues with income tax returns.

— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021

Shortly thereafter, they shared the letter sent to my campaign manager with the media. Our lawyers tell us that no candidate has ever been previously disqualified due to redaction issues with income tax returns.

The California Globe spoke with attorney Mark Meuser and confirmed this. Meuser also went on record stating that Weber had no authority to exclude Elder from the ballot for this reason:

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Saturday released the official state list of the 41 candidates who filed the required paperwork to run in the September 14th recall election. Noticeably absent was Larry Elder‘s name, the Globe reported Monday.

The Globe contacted elections Attorney Mark Meuser Monday about the letter Larry Elder received (below) from Secretary Weber. Meuser referred to California Elections Code 8903, section (b), and indicated that the statute on tax returns says the Secretary of State can prepare a new version of the tax return with only the redactions permitted by that subdivision, but cannot remove a candidate.

Elder continued to lay out the facts confirmed by Meuser above, and concluded his thread:

If the Secretary of State's decision is not reversed, we will see them in court.
–Larry Elder https://t.co/mnvU6s5Wid

— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021

If the Secretary of State’s decision is not reversed, we will see them in court. –Larry Elder

Elder did go to Court, and the Judge ruled on Wednesday that Elder should not have been required to submit his tax returns in the first place since the law used by the Secretary of State to exclude him only applied to primary ballot elections and not a special ballot election, as is this recall election.

But I’m sure our affirmative action Secretary of State knew this. When the news broke of Elder’s victory over the “shenanigans,” my colleague Brandon Morse wrote:

Elder’s inclusion into the race will be a troubling one for Democrats looking to maintain their power over the state. His status as a high-profile Republican may generate a great deal of momentum for voters to turn out to vote yes on the recall, putting Democrats further on the backfoot than they already are.

So, regarding Elder’s fight to get on the ballot: was it a Republican thing, an incompetence thing, or a race thing?

Lavern Spicer went there, playing the Race card.

If you ask me, California trying to keep Larry Elder out of the governor’s race is a good example of systemic racism🤷🏾‍♀️

— Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) July 20, 2021

Others floated this possibility as well:

If you want to see real racism in action.. here it is. Larry Elder better be on the list!

— kevin jamison (@kevinjamison2) July 19, 2021

Isn't this racism?https://t.co/qNA1iJGwEq

— ProMAGAman (@jrooney49) July 19, 2021

In Elder’s case, maybe it’s a combination of all three. The Democrat Party was founded on racism and continues to be racist. You want to talk about implicit bias? Look no further than the way Blacks are pandered to within that party, but rarely given any real influence. And once Blacks are used to achieve a certain goal (First Black President, “Check!”), like locusts, they move on to the next fertile field (lookout, Hispanics and Asians).

Then you have the tired saw of how the Democrat Party treats Black Conservatives and Republicans as non-persons and race traitors. Elder made a film about that called Uncle Tom, and you hear the stories from me, Jeff Charles, Kira Davis, Christopher Arps, and others; so no need to belabor that point here.

Elder’s exclusion from the California recall election ballot may have been a minor thing in their mind of picking off the least skilled campaigner. The Democrats seemed unprepared for Elder’s swift push back, and it may have done the opposite of what they intended.

Now there’s an even bigger spotlight on this Recall election, and they now have a candidate with a huge media, public relations, and legal base at his disposal should more nonsense ensue. And with less than 55 days until the September 14 Recall election, you know there will be.

Major Williams, another charismatic Black candidate on the ballot, also ran into what he claims is sabotage. Williams has been campaigning as a candidate for California governor since early 2021 and has raised lots of social media presence and campaign cash. So, it came as a surprise to his followers that his name was also excluded from the Recall Election ballot.

There has been much speculation and questions about his campaign, and these increased once he did not make the ballot. Williams responded with a fairly abstruse Facebook post:

He also posted this video on Instagram, which said (in part):

As a candidate, it is my job to empower the right individuals around me to execute based upon their roles that they are paid for. In this particular instance, my administrator did not do the job that was supposed to be done, based on what they were paid for.

Williams weaves a story about how he was locked out of all his accounts and that this administrator also failed to file the appropriate documents in a timely fashion in order for his name to be placed on the September 14 Recall ballot.

Williams filed a lawsuit against those he identified as the saboteurs who contributed to his campaign woes, and is now encouraging his followers to make him a write-in candidate.

Will there be a lawsuit against this "administrator" that "locked" up Major Williams' bank accounts, website and failed to submit Williams candidate forms? The person that "sabotaged" his campaign. Will Williams sue himself for incompetence and fraud?

— Sam Tyler (@Snackwel) July 21, 2021

Williams has put in the campaign shoe leather and genuinely connected with people, so a number of the comments both on the Facebook and Instagram posts were ones of support and encouragement for him to keep up the fight.

Then there are the ones like the Twitter reply above, and others, like this former follower on Facebook:

With so many others who made it onto the ballot, it really blows my mind that those who didn’t, have this victim mentality. I understand Elder’s submitted tax returns were incomplete. However, he just entered the race a week ago and clearly was rushing. How is it a candidate who was in the recall race from day one, couldn’t complete the requirements to make the ballot? I’m truly asking as someone who supported this campaign (at one point). It’s like applying for any other job and submitting an incomplete resume/application, and then getting upset when not hired. Accountability people, come on! This has absolutely nothing to do with ‘evils’, and everything to do with not respecting/understanding timelines, and the importance of complete submissions

And there you have it.

Louis Pasteur is quoted as saying, “Fortune favors the prepared mind.”

Whether sabotage, racist leanings, or simply tomfoolery, the prepared mind, and the truly prepared candidate overcomes them. Elder has come out on top and received a huge boost to his campaign, and a California Politics/Emerson poll even has him in the lead, but now is not the time to get cocky. If Elder does not stay prepared and start thinking 10 steps ahead, the next skirmish may be the one that does tank his candidacy.

It may already be too late for Williams.