Gavin Newsom's Record Is a Problem

"It's easy to see why the party's voters have such a favorable view of his political skills. The California governor has combined an ideological flexibility-lately embracing both the "abundance agenda" and dialogues with conservatives-with a relentless mockery of President Trump. His new persona as a fighting moderate, a Democrat in tune with the country's shifting desires and ruthless toward the man at the top, deftly speaks to the needs of a party desperate to regain the White House."

"During his tenure, the state has been a laboratory for some of the Democratic Party's most politically fraught policies and instincts, which has left it less affordable and more culturally radical than it used to be. His record not only raises pressing questions about how effectively he could govern as president; it also provides opponents an endless buffet of vulnerabilities across social and economic issues."

"Indeed, many of Newsom's positions read as if they were reverse-engineered from Republican attack ads. California has spent billions of dollars offering Medicaid to undocumented immigrants, and millions more on providing transgender surgeries for prisoners, some of them on death row. But because these policies either command majority support among Democratic voters or matter enormously to progressive interest groups, Newsom could very well make it through a primary despite a record that would repulse swing voters come Novem"

Gavin Newsom currently leads the Democratic field for the 2028 presidential nomination, outperforming better-known rivals such as Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg. Voters view him as electable, crediting ideological flexibility, outreach to conservatives, embrace of an "abundance agenda," and outspoken attacks on Donald Trump. His persona combines moderate positioning with aggressive opposition to Trump, appealing to a party focused on regaining the White House. Long tenure as a California politician and governor since 2019 has produced policies that made the state less affordable and more culturally radical, creating vulnerabilities on social and economic issues. Many of his stances resemble themes used in Republican attack ads, including expanded Medicaid for undocumented immigrants and taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners, which could repel swing voters in a general election.

Read at The Atlantic