CA Recall Candidate Served with Subpoena Over Unpaid Campaign Bill During Debate

The California gubernatorial recall candidate who made a splash in May by bringing a 1000-pound Kodiak bear to a campaign stop was served with a subpoena during a candidates’ debate on Tuesday night in Sacramento.

John Cox was given the subpoena by an unidentified man who interrupted a response from the candidate to a prompt by a debate moderator. In a clip captured by Los Angeles Times reporter Melody Gutierrez, the man loudly declared, “John Cox, you’ve been served. San Diego Superior Court, ordered by the Judge.”

WATCH: CA Republican gubernatorial candidate in recall served subpoena during debate pic.twitter.com/jUue7ozmTh

— Melody Gutierrez (@MelodyGutierrez) August 18, 2021

Back in February, a judge in San Diego ruled that Cox’s failed 2018 gubernatorial campaign had failed to pay nearly $55,000 it owed to a Republican consulting firm, and about $43,000 in legal fees, interest, and other costs associated with his run.

Cox is a multimillionaire.

He told The Los Angeles Times, “It’s one creditor who didn’t get paid from the 2018 campaign because he didn’t deserve to be.”

On September 14, voters in California will decide whether or not to recall Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The ballot asks whether the governor should be recalled. If a majority of voters check off “yes,” that means he will be removed from office. A second question on the ballot lists potential replacements. If a majority vote to recall Newsom, the candidate who receives the most votes will become the state’s next governor.

This is the second gubernatorial recall election in California since 2003, when Democrat Gray Davis was recalled by 55% of the voters. He was notably replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would go on to serve until 2011.

Recent polls indicate possible trouble for Newsom, as the question of whether to recall him is a statistical dead heat.

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