It’s been quite the week for the California Republicans running to replace Gavin Newsom in the state’s September 14 recall election. On August 17, early front-runner and 2018 candidate John Cox was interrupted during a debate by someone wielding court papers involving an old debt. And today Politico published lurid allegations from the ex-fiancée and long-time producer for radio-talk-show host Larry Elder, who has passed Cox in the polls and looks likely to become governor if Newsom is removed from office in California’s two-step recall process.
Said accuser is herself a right-wing gabber of sorts and has endorsed Elder/Cox rival Kevin Faulconer, though she disavows any connection to the former San Diego mayor’s flagging campaign. Her tales of Life with Larry, though, are going to get some attention. The Politico lede is a humdinger:
Alexandra Datig, the former fiancee and longtime radio producer for California GOP gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, says she broke off an 18-month engagement with the conservative talk show host in 2015 after he waved a gun at her while high on marijuana.
This was not, she suggests, a particularly unusual incident:
Datig said she moved in with him in 2013, entering what she describes as a wild and ultimately destructive relationship that she broke it off after 18 months …
“I was raised that you never use a gun in anger, and you don’t use it when you’re drunk or you’re high to make a point in frustration — which is what he did,’’ said Datig, who says Elder was a heavy consumer of marijuana, and was under the influence.
Datig has her own interesting backstory as a former prostitute who became an informer in the Heidi Fleiss “Hollywood Madam” case. She apparently has recording of some of the incidents she described to Politico:
In one home video she provided to POLITICO, Elder brags about his relationship with Snoop Dogg, saying, “I introduced him to the evil weed … I taught him everything he knows … I’m the one who made him what he is, I can’t believe he turned his back on me, motherfucker.”
Last year Elder was publicly feuding with Snoop Dogg after the celebrity had some profane things to say about Black conservatives.
Datig also gave Politico a nude photo of herself sporting a tattoo identifying her as “Larry’s girl,” which he displayed prominently in the couple’s home.
It’s unclear whether Datig’s claims will affect Elder’s candidacy, particularly since Californians are already voting in the recall election. You’d think having a governor who boasted of introducing Snoop Dogg to marijuana — a bit like introducing Michael Jordan to basketball — might be a little rich for Republicans. Then again, considering their affection for Donald Trump, maybe personal misconduct is just another way of being un-woke.
Even Datig remains on board the recall train, but says: “Gavin Newsom is the devil you know. Larry Elder is the devil you think you know.”
