Sen. Brian Dahle preps for gubernatorial debate with Gov. Newsom ahead of November election
California State Senator Brian Dahle knows that his work is cut out for him as he prepares for the looming November election, when he'll face off against incumbent Governor Gavin Newsom in the polls.
While the latest numbers show that Newsom holds a large lead, Dahle said he's in it for the long haul.
As he preps for the first and only gubernatorial debate, oddly scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Dahle noted that regardless of the time he's up for the challenge.
"I'm giving Californians a different option," he said while speaking with CBS Political Reporter Tom Wait during an interview on Friday. "Something that they haven't seen for a long time."
Dahle, a Republican, first joined the political scape in 1996, winning an election for the Lassen County Board of Supervisors. He was reelected in that position three times before being elected to California State Assembly in 2012, where he was again reelected three times. He took office as a State Senator in 2019, after Ted Gaines resigned from the position.
His wife is also a politician, taking his place as an Assembly member in 2019.
Hailing from Redding, Dahle plans on utilizing his vast knowledge of the state, considering he and his family have been mainstays for the greater part of the last 90 years.
"My grandfather actually came to California in the Great Depression and was a World War I veteran," he said. "He had the opportunity to put his name in a pickle jar and he got a land grant. He got a 80-acre homestead in Siskiyou County."
"A lot of Republicans, Independents and Democrats are coming to my events and saying, 'I've been a lifelong Democrat, and we need balance in California, I'm gonna vote for you.'"
It was just a year ago that Governor Newsom escaped a recall effort, crushing the effort and remaining in his position as the head of California government.
With another steep lead in the polls, it appears he's heading towards another successful campaign. This could be part of the reason why the debate seems so insignificant to the governor, but political experts have other theories.
They say this timing is likely done by design, when most people will be watching football or at church.
"The audience is going to be very small and that's exactly the way the governor wants it," said Claremont McKenna College Professor of Politics Jack Pitney. "He gains nothing from having a large viewership, there's always potential he could make a mistake or that Brian Dahle could score a rhetorical point, so the purpose of this debate is to say that he debated and hope that nobody paid attention."
Dahle says it's because he's more concerned with national problems, like his ongoing feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
"He wants to debate with Ron DeSantis, because you know, he doesn't want to talk about California," he said. "We do have a debate on KQED and I'm looking forward to talking about California. I know he's gonna want to talk about everybody else and other states, but I wanna make sure we talk about California."
Pitney says that even with his strong background, all of the odds are stacked against Dahle.
"Brian Dahle would be a very strong candidate if this were 1986, but it's 2022. The Republican Party is in very dire straits statewide; they have some opportunities in some congressional and legislative races, but very little chance at the statewide level," he said.
The debate is being streamed both online and available via radio.
Upon request for comment, CBS LA did not hear back from Governor Newsom's office.
