La Jolla physician James Veltmeyer got good news Friday. The state Secretary of State’s Office gave him the green light to circulate petitions to seek the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The bad news? Palm Springs author and speaker Erin Cruz beat Veltmeyer to the punch. On Sept. 7, the state OK’d her own campaign seeking to oust the Democratic governor.

As a result, both Republicans have 160 days to secure nearly 1.5 million valid signatures of California voters. Each.

Cruz told One America News that “we hope to send a love letter to Gavin Newsom on Valentine’s Day,” since her deadline is Feb. 13, 2020. Veltmeyer has until March 5 — two days after the statewide presidential primary.

But their efforts remain long shots. And petition drives can’t be combined.

Moreover, the California Republican Party isn’t endorsing either recall drive.

Bryan Watkins, the party’s field and political director, told Times of San Diego in a statement Monday: “We are aware and monitoring the efforts to qualify a recall of the governor. The party has not officially taken a position on these efforts as it has not been voted on by our membership, but we believe wholeheartedly that Gov. Newsom’s governorship has failed the people of California.”

Still, he said the state GOP will be relentless in highlighting what he calls the shortfalls of Newsom’s time in the governor’s office.

“Gov. Newsom and the Democrats in Sacramento have failed the people of California by ignoring skyrocketing cost of living, homelessness epidemic and failing schools in our state,” he said. “In short, we need new leadership to address these issues.”

Watkins also says he’s unaware of either recall drive seeking state party backing.

(A spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office said dueling petition drives have occurred in the past: In 2009, two simultaneous efforts targeted Assembly member Anthony Adams and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both failed to qualify for the ballot.)