California Republicans have long viewed Kevin Faulconer as someone moderate enough to win back the governor's office in the heavily Democratic state.

State Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks led a group of Democratic officials who described the effort to remove Newsom as a coup and claimed, without evidence, that those involved were far-right extremists. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File)LOS ANGELES – California Republicans on Wednesday seized on a bungled Democratic attempt to link the proposed recall of Gov. The criticism came as the Republican Party of Orange County launched a new round of fundraising appeals for the recall, saying Democrats were attempting to enflame political tensions at a time of national strife. “Linking a legal and constitutionally appropriate (California) recall attempt to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and ongoing coup attempt is worse than a bad PR call. Unlike a coup, typically a violent and illegal attempt to seize power, recall elections are authorized under state law.