(CNN)As polls have tightened dramatically in recent weeks in the effort to recall Gavin Newsom, the Democratic California governor and his allies have been warning of doomsday scenarios if he is ousted on September 14 and replaced by a conservative Republican bent on unraveling the state’s progressive agenda.
But as some of the major candidates vying to replace Newsom met for a debate in Sacramento Wednesday night — where they portrayed him as ill-equipped to handle the state’s many crises — there are some early signs that rank-and-file Democrats aren’t wasting time returning their vote-by-mail ballots in their effort to stop the recall.