LOS ANGELES (AP) — Candidates in the recall election that could remove Gov. Gavin Newsom are sketching starkly different visions of California.

The Democratic governor celebrated his new budget at a Los Angeles ceremony where he described California as a nation-leading powerhouse emerging from the pandemic. But his Republican rivals depict California as a failed state with Newsom as its incompetent leader.

Newsom could be removed from office in the Sept. 14 election.

At a rally in the Los Angeles suburbs, Republican Larry Elder blamed Newsom for school lockdowns that he said traumatized many students and young athletes.