California Recall Puts Governor’s Pandemic Leadership to the Test

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday will be the first governor in a recall election to face voters divided over Covid-19 restrictions and collectively angry about a pandemic that continues to upend lives nationwide.

State leaders around the U.S. have exercised broad authority to try to safeguard the health and well-being of both their residents and economies over the past 18 months, including decisions that have drawn fire from all sides.

Mr. Newsom’s performance will be the first judged by voters. The Democratic governor is staking his political survival on measures he took against the spread of Covid-19, including face-mask requirements and, during the pandemic’s worst stretches, temporarily closing businesses, classrooms and indoor church services. He has cast them as lifesaving measures.

Radio host Larry Elder, a Republican, and the governor’s leading opponent, said he would repeal most of the state’s Covid-19 mandates before drinking his first cup of tea on the day he takes office. Mr. Elder, 69 years old, said the measures unnecessarily hobbled business owners, students and religious worshipers.