California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces challenges at home, but he won’t let that stop him from mounting a quasi-presidential campaign that has piqued the interest of Democrats looking for a Plan B for President Biden on the 2024 ticket.
The governor has displayed unflinching loyalty to the president. Mr. Newsom appeared with Mr. Biden last week in California to defend the president and his policies while waving off suggestions that he is considering a run for the top job.
Political analysts don’t buy it.
“That is just hogwash,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University in California. “They have considered it a long time, and they think he can remake the Democratic Party into a new coalition.”
Mr. McCuan said Mr. Newsom is unlikely to jump into the race himself and wants to be drafted to give the appearance that he is responding to popular demand.
Rumblings of that demand are percolating.
“I would hope that Biden would step aside and let Gavin step in,” said RoseAnn DeMoro, a former national vice president and executive board member of the AFL-CIO labor federation. “The world would embrace him so warmly. He is a velvet hammer kind of guy.”
Mr. Newsom brushed aside the idea as he locked horns in a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity to defend Mr. Biden’s record on immigration, the economy, jobs, inflation and unemployment rates.
He specifically rejected the notion that Mr. Biden, 80, is not up to the job.
“I know he is capable. I see the results. I have seen a master class of results the last few years,” Mr. Newsom said. “I’m dead serious about that.”
The governor, 55, dismissed the idea that Democratic policies are leading to an exodus of people and businesses from California. He also rejected accusations that he has failed to confront homelessness and affordable housing.
Mr. Newsom said he is “proud of the fact that working families are treated better than in California than they are in conservative states like Texas.”
Still, California’s shrinking population means fewer working families. The trend was unthinkable in the 20th century, when the state’s population exploded.
Demographers attribute the decline to deaths, lower birthrates, slowing immigration and egress of residents.
California’s 171,000 homeless people represent roughly 30% of the national total in a state with about 12% of the U.S. population. The state unemployment rate is 4.5%, higher than the national average of 3.7%.
“Gavin Newsom’s failed policies have been a disaster, and Californians are suffering because of them,” said Courtney Alexander, a spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association. “From record levels of homelessness to a job-destroying environment, people are voting with their feet and leaving the state in droves.
“To add to that, they’re overwhelmingly heading to Republican-led states. We’ll let that speak for itself,” she said.
None of that has dented the popularity of Mr. Newsom, who cruised to reelection last year after promising voters he would serve the full four-year term.
With questions about Mr. Biden’s longevity, however, few doubt Mr. Newsom would jump at the chance for a White House bid.
“Every time Biden stumbles, talks about the queen of England, makes mistakes like that, it is a good day for Gavin,” said Shawn Steel, a member of the Republican National Committee from California.
Mr. Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this report.
Mr. Newsom started raising his national profile during last year’s campaign. A television ad in Florida accused Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders of banning books, making it harder to vote and adopting abortion bans.
Come to freedom-loving California, Mr. Newsom told viewers.
Mr. Newsom this month suggested criminal charges against Mr. DeSantis and other Florida officials over a load of migrants flown into California.
Mr. DeSantis said Mr. Newsom should “stop pussyfooting around” and join the presidential campaign.
“Are you going to throw your hat in the ring and challenge Joe? Are you going to get in and do it, or are you going to sit on the sidelines and chirp?” the Florida Republican said.
Mr. Newsom also has gone after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott with newspaper ads chastising the Republican’s record on gun control and abortion.
This month, Mr. Newsom proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to enshrine “common sense gun safety measures” into law, including universal background checks, raising the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21 and barring the civilian purchase of military-style rifles.
In California, Mr. Newsom is rallying support for ballot measures that ask voters to approve an overhaul of mental health laws and to force counties to put more money toward housing. A bond proposal would add 10,000 beds for mental health treatment.
In addition to her AFL-CIO work, Ms. DeMoro served as executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. She said the governor’s work on mental health and drug use has been “groundbreaking.”
She cheered Mr. Newsom’s moves to constrain fossil fuels, including limits on drilling and what she called a “de facto limit on new fracking permits.”
The ballot measures could score Mr. Newsom the signature victory that has eluded him since he first took office in 2019.
“It needs to be more steak than sizzle, and right now they have a lot of sizzle,” said Mr. McCuan, the political science professor. “That is their challenge.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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