Gov. Gavin Newsom headed to the Central Valley on Thursday to preview his upcoming jobs plan, saying California’s economy is a “cold comfort zone” for a region that feels it’s not participating in the state’s muscle production.
Fill out the governor’s announcement in addition. But the plane clip – a liberal politician standing in front of a heavy machine, talking about blue-collar jobs in a county that supports President-elect Donald Trump on November 5 – appears to be a response to the election, where Democrats took a drubbing. after critics said they were out of touch on economic issues.
“Some people talk about, ‘The economy is booming, inflation is cooling, unemployment is the lowest in our lifetime. …’ All of that may be true, but people don’t feel that way. They feel the economy is not encouraging,” Newsom said. in an appearance at a Fresno community college, identifying the gap as a “point of emphasis” in the election.
Newsom singled out work in places like West Fresno’s campus internship program as an “antidote” to that economic disconnect.
During the last Trump administration, Newsom burned his national profile by casting himself as a crusading foil for the then-president. He revisited the battle in the days after the 2024 election, announcing a special session of the Legislature to prepare for potential Republican-led attacks on abortion rights, environmental protections and disaster funding.
The governor sounded some of the same notes during his questioning on Thursday, saying that Trump is breaking the law and “ruining our progress” in his eventual presidency.
But Newsom is also treading carefully, noting that he has worked more closely with Trump early in the COVID-19 pandemic than any other Democratic governor, and saying he doesn’t care how his own constituents vote.
“I care about Trump supporters. I care about RFK Jr. supporters. I care about Tucker Carlson supporters. I care about Charlie Kirk supporters. I care about Ben Shapiro supporters. I care about everybody,” said Newsom, a Democrat who is generally seen as potential contenders in the 2028 presidential contest.
Hours before he spoke in Fresno, the governor’s political action committee, the Campaign for Democracy, sent an email to supporters, asking for feedback on “steps Democrats need to take to reverse these losses in the next election and beyond.”
In a New York Times interview, Newsom said he will visit deep-red Kern and Colusa counties, which are also in the Central Valley, and that he understands the message he is sending voters worried about the future of the economy.
Democratic political strategist Andrew Acosta said Newsom should take a cue from the mixed results in his 2022 re-election bid.
“To me, there was a message that was sent two years ago when he lost a lot of the same places by pretty big margins to Republicans who never ran,” Acosta said.
Acosta noted that Newsom’s tape has been used by supporters of GOP Rep. John Duarte is campaigning against Democratic challenger Adam Gray in a nail-biting Central Valley battle for California’s 13th Congressional District, which is still close to a call.
The governor seemed keenly aware Thursday that Californians — regardless of whether they’re skinny rednecks and listening to “The Ben Shapiro Show” or keeping the radio dials in their Prius tuned to NPR airwaves — share a common concern: the cost of living in an extraordinarily expensive state.
A survey conducted in mid-October by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California identified the economy, including jobs and the cost of living, as the most important issue for citizens.
The results were organized along geographic, party and demographic lines. But Central Valley residents have a bleak view of the state’s economic prospects, with more than two-thirds of respondents saying they see bad times ahead next year. Central Valley residents are also the least likely to see hope on California’s more distant horizon, with fewer than 1 in 3 saying the state is headed in the right direction, according to a Public Policy Institute survey.
Newsom said the seeds of inspiration for his work plan were planted when he was lieutenant governor, and saw how the California dream had been broken in many places.
“I feel like the coastal part of the country is doing well, but at the end of the day, there’s a different story being told across the country,” he said.
The governor laid out the structure for the future “California Jobs First Economic Blueprint”, which will be released in full early next year.
San Francisco-raised politicians have made a habit of staying in more conservative areas of California after primary elections.
In 2019, on his first day in office, Newsom toured areas of high fire risk in Placer County, a historically red section of Northern California’s Gold Country. And he held a news conference with his wife in Fresno County shortly after winning re-election in 2022.
