Gavin Newsom has been retained as Governor of California ©Getty Images

Democrat Gavin Newsom has retained his position as California Governor after surviving a recall election.

Newsom saw off Republican Larry Elder, seen as his main challenger, after earning an estimated two-thirds of the votes in the election.

His campaign had been backed to the tune of $100,000 (£72,000/€85,000) by Casey Wasserman, the chairperson of the Organising Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The election was triggered after more than 1.5 million people signed a petition calling for one amid criticism of Newsom, who was pictured ignoring his own COVID-19 rules by attending a birthday party without a mask at a high-end Los Angeles restaurant last November.

A total of 46 candidates signalled their intention to stand against Newsom, including Olympic decathlon gold medallist Caitlyn Jenner.

Casey Wasserman was among the donors for Gavin Newsom's campaign in the recall election ©Getty Images
Casey Wasserman was among the donors for Gavin Newsom's campaign in the recall election ©Getty Images

Newsom, a former Mayor of San Francisco, will be expected to play a key role in preparations for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles following his re-election.

The 53-year-old is only the second California Governor to face a recall election, where the electorate votes on whether to keep the incumbent or not, after Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger unseated Gray Davis in 2003.

Schwarzenegger was the state's last Republican Governor.

"'No' is not the only thing that was expressed tonight," Newsom said after his victory. 

"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."

Had a majority of voters cast ballots to recall Newsom, the other candidate who received the most votes would have completed his term.