Gov. Gavin Newsom stood quietly on the sidelines of the United Center arena, hands in his coat pockets, as he watched state after state joyfully announce their support for Kamala Harris.
Deliberately away from most of the news cameras, Newsom waited to appear on the floor until it was his national television turn in the spotlight to announce California’s vote for his longtime friend and political ally as the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I have to say, on the bingo card of my life, you can’t make this up,” Newsom said moments later as he made his way from the back of the arena down the hall.
A political cocktail of ambition, hard work, smarts and a little luck allowed the Californian to solidify his position in the most coveted role in the Democratic party this week, replacing President Biden at the top of the ticket.
The Democratic National Convention also marked the beginning of another Golden State star politician — and presidential contender — finding himself in an unfamiliar position in Harris’ shadow.
Newsom’s presence in Chicago is unusual for the liberal leader of America’s most populous state as he tries to find a place behind Harris and his unclear role in supporting her campaign.
“He needs to make sure he’s acting in a way that recognizes his role and the fact that he’s not the candidate,” said Jennifer Horn, the former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party and now a registered independent who opposes Donald Trump.
“But, at the same time, if he wants to build that image as the highest potential candidate in the future, then he also has to be an enthusiastic supporter of Kamala Harris for president, and he can’t. Try to be smart about it.”
Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
It helps, it doesn’t hurt
In an interview at the arena Thursday, Newsom said he was ready to jump in but described himself as “a solution in many ways looking for a problem,” because the way surrogates, donors, fundraisers and volunteers have been bleak for the Harris campaign in the last three weeks.
He’s waiting for Harris to give him the job, but he’s also mindful of how San Franciscans and Californians are perceived across the country and how that could affect his campaign.
“I understand the situation and that’s why I’m not commenting on anything,” Newsom said. “I like it. I don’t need anything or want anything. I just want to help and not hurt.”
During the convention, Newsom appeared on Fox News and NBC and was interviewed by local news networks at the request of the Harris campaign. He praised Harris in an interview with CNN and some of the country’s news front, and joined the Newsmax segment live unplanned while walking through the studio of the conservative station in the arena, but generally maintained a limited public schedule.
The governor said he had a chance to give a speech at the convention on Monday, but his flight from California was delayed. Newsom attended a school orientation for children that morning and arrived at the arena before Biden spoke.
Then he was offered the chance to announce the California delegation for Harris and hung up on Tuesday.
“I said, ‘That’s awesome,'” Newsom said. “So it’s the best of all worlds. To be honest with you, it’s a historic moment and one that will go down in the scrapbooks.
At least five hot governors from other states – Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland and Andy Beshear of Kentucky – and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg spoke on the floor of the convention and addressed California. delegates at the morning breakfast program.
Newsom’s wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, also addressed the California delegates. The governor did not.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave him a shout-out on stage at Wednesday night’s California delegation party at the House of Blues, but Newsom remained nonchalant and remained in the club’s VIP area.
“I think it’s really about the national stage and everyone else,” Ariel Kelley, a member of the Healdsburg City Council, said in one of the breakfast programs of the California delegation. “It’s great to hear from people who aren’t common in California because they’re so busy taking care of their home turf.”
the color of San Francisco
Playing second fiddle to Harris marks a shift in the long-standing political dynamic between two of the most important figures in a generation of California leaders.
As a flamboyant and sometimes unconventional politician, Newsom often attracted more attention than Harris from his early days in San Francisco.
He also comes from elite California stock: His father, William Newsom, was a lawyer for the Getty oil family and later a state appeals court judge.
A woman of color born to immigrant parents, Harris had to make her own way into the upper echelons of San Francisco politics. His Jamaican father, Donald Harris, is an economics professor, and his mother, Shyamala Gopalan, is an Indian-born cancer researcher.
Harris and Newsom were friends more than two decades ago before they held elected office. They were sworn in on the same day in 2004 – he was San Francisco’s district attorney and she was mayor.
Harris describes that day in his autobiography, “The Truths We Hold”:
“With Gavin Newsom being sworn in as mayor on the same day as me, there is a palpable sense in the city that a new chapter is opening for San Francisco politics — and what it can do for all of us.”
Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris at a DNC event for up-and-coming politicians in 2008, when he was mayor of San Francisco and she was the city’s district attorney.
(San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspaper via Getty Images)
Newsom quickly catapulted into the national spotlight three weeks into his first term when he issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of federal law.
Harris also married a gay couple during the city’s “Winter of Love.” But his role was eclipsed by his, a dynamic that political insiders, friends and advisers of California continued for much of his political career as he took the same path in state government.
In his nomination acceptance speech at the convention Thursday, Harris said the election that put him in office was not easy to fight and that he was “belittled at every turn.”
Newsom’s confidence was eroded when he challenged former Gov. Jerry Brown in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial election before dropping out and serving as lieutenant governor. Harris won election the same year as California attorney general.
Newsom is famously detested waiting in the wings behind Brown in the office of the general ceremony with some official duties, but he can still attract national attention as the champion of the vote measure legalizing marijuana, among political maneuvers.
The paths of Harris and Newsom diverged again when he was elected to the US Senate in the 2016 contest to replace former Senator Barbara Boxer and he announced his candidacy for governor in the 2018 election. The decision to seek different offices could avoid a potentially deadly battle and an awkward situation for advisers politics, representing both candidates.
Newsom described the narrative that he and Harris had a “sibling rivalry” as a “stupid construct.” His career, he said, never crossed paths.
“We have sort of this track, but always next to each other,” said Newsom. “The tension is a manifestation of punditry.”
Is the White House still within reach?
Harris was the first to take a shot at the presidency in a failed 2020 bid. Biden’s selection of Harris as vice president made him the automatic front-runner in talks about the top Democrat to succeed him.
But as Biden’s second-in-command, he also seems hamstrung and restricted from getting out in front of him on the campaign trail.
Newsom, on the other hand, moved to become the top replacement for the president after the 81-year-old commander-in-chief announced that he would run for re-election.
Although the governor has denied having presidential ambitions, the debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a frequent interview on Fox News, appeared in the Republican presidential debate and his own campaign against the governor of the red state stirred speculation that he is eyeing the last run.
Biden’s endorsement of Harris this summer and his successor not only discussed Newsom’s presidential prospects, but also changed his advocacy for the Democratic ticket.
At this point, it’s unclear how Harris intends to use Newsom in her campaign. The governor said she spoke with her husband, Doug Emhoff, Harris’ chief of staff, and Walz this week offered to help, if needed.
“So, it’s really needed,” Newsom said. “This race will be limited geographically because at the end of the day it will be the swing states that will decide and if I can fill a void that no one else can, then I will get there.”
As a more moderate politician, Biden could tap Newsom to energize more progressive voters. The governor’s red-state campaign also allowed him to endorse Biden in places that shouldn’t have been at the top of the president’s list.
Harris’s political position is the same as Newsom.
Darry Sragow, a veteran Democratic strategist, agreed with Newsom’s concern about people in other states being suspicious of Californians.
“I mean, that’s just the reality,” Sragow said. “Maybe it’s time for Gavin Newsom to be less visible in the other 49 states.”
Balloons dropped around Governor Gavin Newsom as the Democratic National Convention wrapped up on Thursday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Newsom’s fastest shot at the presidency largely depends on whether Harris wins in November.
If Trump wins, the governor could lead Democratic resistance to the conservative White House until he leaves in 2026 and then launch a bid for president in 2028. If Harris wins, Newsom’s timing may be less suitable for the 2032 race.
Newsom said watching Harris’ rise hasn’t changed his perspective on his own political future. The governor, who said he would not run against him for president, must have known he “had a sell-by date.”
“I remember that,” Newsom said. “I have tried to have many identities and goals in my life. Public service will always be in many forms and manifestations. Obviously, I am proud of my entrepreneurial past, present, and that I think will be a big part of my future as well.
Former California Governor Gray Davis, who supported Newsom and Harris, said politicians can only take one thing at a time and do their best every day.
“You can’t say, ‘I want to be president,'” Davis said. “Okay, you want to be president, but the path to get there is not in your control and never will be. Fate and timing are everything.”
