SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom got a big political boost when Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election. Newsom now has a direct path to the White House in 2028.
With Harris — his fellow Californian and longtime Democratic ally — not running for re-election in 2028, Newsom will have no political and moral restraints to enter the race.
That’s the conventional way of looking at the impact of the election on Newsom. But there is another way: Newsom’s brand of anti-Trump liberal politics is rejected by most American voters. What does that portend for the future of national politics?
Once again, California – despite having the largest cache of electoral votes in the country – maintains a record of never sending a Democrat to the White House. In fact, Harris was the first California Democrat ever to be nominated for president.
If Harris wins on Tuesday, Newsom, 57, can kiss goodbye any presidential aspirations. He even considered asking Harris for a Cabinet position, leaving behind his last two years as governor. That would be a bad trade. Tedious and boring. But that option is off the table now.
So, should Newsom jump on the political bandwagon and prepare to run when Trump is called out in four years? Actually, Newsom should start running when he’s called to run for governor in two years — and heat up before then.
Of course, go for it, if he really wants to be in the Oval Office. I have always doubted and wondered if he just likes – like any politician – national attention and is mentioned in the same sentence as a presidential candidate. But I’m in the minority.
“When the governor of California – the largest state with more people than Australia – looks in the mirror in the morning, he always sees the president’s resignation,” said Garry South, a veteran Democratic tactician and political strategist for former Gov. Gray Davis.
I am also very skeptical that Newsom can be elected president. Party nomination? perhaps. But the Oval? He is too liberal for most Americans.
Longtime Democratic strategist Bill Carrick said that after Democratic insiders did a thorough autopsy of Tuesday’s defeat, they may have “come to the conclusion that they can’t run someone else (in 2028) who would be very progressive.”
“I think the forward can get the nomination if he’s a good enough candidate,” added Carrick. “But can we win in November? That’s the big question.”
Regardless, Newsom will likely be pushed into the presidential arena by the news media, which has anointed him as a leading contender. Personas and names help TV ratings, and attract clicks and readers.
“He’s one of the most charismatic and wise figures the Democrats have today,” said South, who advised the San Francisco mayor when he tried to run for governor in 2010 before resigning for Jerry Brown.
“There needs to be a Democratic face in opposition to Trump’s policies and Newsom can play that role,” South said. “There will definitely be some Democrats who show up. And after Newsom’s term is over, he will be free to walk and be free.
Newsom didn’t wait until the day’s work was done. The governor appeared on Thursday in a move that signaled he wanted to lead an attack on Trump.
Newsom called the special legislative session — he likes to call this attention-getting “special” session — “to protect California and its fundamental rights during the incoming Trump administration.”
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack and we will not stand idly by,” the governor said in a statement. “We are ready for war…”
He said legislators “will focus on strengthening California’s legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families.”
In other words, Newsom’s political animal is marking his territory as an anti-Trump lead dog.
Actually, this is just the next stage of a previous national journey to promote the Democratic ticket while laying the groundwork for a potential presidential candidate.
One factor Newsom — or the Democrats — may benefit from in 2028 is that voters will again be looking for change after four years of Trump’s administration. The motivator behind the elections in the last three presidential elections was the demand for change.
Trump was elected in 2016 as voters demanded a change from the two-term Democratic president Barack Obama. And Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton certainly does not represent change.
Then in 2020, voters demanded a change from the despicable Trump and elected Joe Biden. And on Tuesday, he asked for help from the “Biden-Harris” administration. By 2028, chances are they will be fed up with Trumpism again.
But the presidency may be a bridge too far for California Democrats.
For most Americans, we are the La La Land of the left coast, the socialist country of San Francisco liberals Harris and Newsom – welcoming illegal immigration, coddling criminals, overregulating businesses and suffocating successful people with ceiling taxes.
Instead of attacking Trump even before all the votes are counted, Newsom should focus on trying to burnish his record as governor of California. Homelessness is still a disgrace. People are fleeing the country because they can’t live here. The tax system is antiquated and broken.
Even California voters disagreed with Newsom’s lenient sentencing policy for repeat offenders — as demonstrated by the landslide approval of Proposition 36.
And they need to tone down their hyper rhetoric about climate change. Not every fire, flood, hurricane or hot day is a result of global warming. And continuing to attack Big Oil is an attack on thousands of workers who voted.
So, yes, start to be president – but a little towards the middle.
