SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California Democrats have failed to prevent a recall effort against state Sen. Josh Newman for voting to increase the gas tax. Republicans collected signatures to hold a recall election sometime next year. Democrats argued that proponents misled voters into thinking they were signing onto a repeal of the gas tax instead of just a recall petition. They rammed through a change to the recall process allowing voters to remove their names. The Secretary of State said Wednesday that only 846 voters had done so. Democrats needed roughly 7,000 to back out. Newman’s district includes parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. A Newman consultant, Derek Humphrey, calls the recall election “a shameful waste of money.”