NBC News has projected that the recall election will fail spectacularly. As of their call and this writing, No on the recall was ahead by a 2-1 margin.

This is where everyone should remember that this recall was triggered because California Republicans only needed 1.5 million signatures, and got four extra months to gather those signatures. Had they been limited to the usual timeline, they would have failed to get the recall on the ballot.

I have many thoughts on this. It was a monumental waste of money. It has energized Democrats going into the midterms and not just in California, but all over the country. Gavin Newsom's profile has been elevated nationally and he will stand out as a Democratic star.

But probably most importantly, it *should* change the media narrative and point them away from the Q-freaks and Trumpers. I say "should" because this is the kind of crap we get from CNN's Kasie Hunt:

Reading this absurd thread you would have no idea that the recall was a spectacular flop. Everything is always bad news for Democrats, even landslide victories. pic.twitter.com/S6lltU395o

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) September 15, 2021

You really have to stretch to make this something bad for Democrats on a night where Democrats blasted the California Republicans right off the map, but that's where our national media is right now.

UPDATE: Newsom has thoughts too:

Newsom: No was not the only thing that was expressed tonight. I want to focus on what we said yes to as a state. We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic… pic.twitter.com/3YYb9gAvvv

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 15, 2021