The campaign to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom is waiting for all of the signatures it filed to be verified. In the meantime, Newsom and a number of Republicans are jockeying to replace him, should the recall make the ballot and voters approve it.

But at least one Democrat is testing the recall waters, too: billionaire former presidential candidate Tom Steyer:

A Steyer entity commissioned the wide-ranging poll on a number of issues impacting the state’s political landscape. Among them was the Covid pandemic, the environment, and other topics close to him. But his group also notably asked Californians whether they were prepared to oust Newsom from office a year before his first term is set to expire. And, the survey included a handful of fallback options for Democrats should Newsom lose enough support to get booted out of office, including Steyer himself.

The Newsom camp is doing everything it can to keep Democrats united behind the governor – roasting anyone who steps out of line.

But that strategy has its limits:

The feeling among political strategists and officials across the state is that many Democrats are waiting to see what Newsom’s political pulse will be by late summer, when they will have to decide whether to enter the race.

In other words, they are circling…for now.

Image Credit: NextGen Climate, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons