Could Governor Gavin Newsom Run for the White House? – Should President Joe Biden be forced to step aside, or otherwise not be available to run for a second term, Democrats continue to put their hopes not on Vice President Kamala Harris, but instead on California Governor Gavin Newsom. The Golden State governor is riding high after signing into law five bills that are intended to make it easier for the state to build large-scale water, transportation, clean energy, and broadband Internet projects.
It is quite the turnaround for Newsom.
Newsom had faced a wave of crisis in his first term, including devastating wildfires, the bankruptcy of the nation’s largest utility, and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. He even had to fend off a recall effort in 2021.
Things haven’t exactly gotten easier since he was reelected – as the state’s record drought ended last winter, only to bring flooding across the state.
Gavin Newsom: The Presidential Hopeful?
Now Newsom, who has sought to increase his national profile, is facing looming multibillion-dollar deficits.
As the Associated Press reported, that could threaten to unravel the things on which he’s staked his reputation, including free kindergarten for every four-year-old and free health care for low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.
Even as those aforementioned bills were signed into law, they’re coming at a huge cost. California is now facing a $31.5 billion deficit – and it could reach $81 billion by January 2027, when his second term ends.
Even Newsom knows that time is not on his time should he seek a White House run.
“I have a sell-by date, three and a half years. The clock’s ticking,” Newsom told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “I’m a milk carton, you know? And I don’t want to get sour.”
California Dreaming or The American Nightmare?
Newsom, who has vowed not to challenge President Biden, likely would be in a far better position to seek the White House in 2024 than he might be in 2028. Leaving California deeply in debt wouldn’t be a good look for a candidate seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
And that is just part of the story.
“The Golden State is now home to record homelessness, sub-par GDP growth, the nation’s highest poverty rate, a tech downturn fuelled by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and a consistently underperforming public education system. These factors have fuelled a powerful out-migration trend — up 135% in just two years. Recent polls find upwards of 40% of residents are considering leaving, while the rising tide of wealthy emigrees has already taken away $20 billion in adjusted income since 2018,” wrote Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Urban Reform Institute, in an editorial on Tuesday.
Kotkin further suggested that Newsom will have to explain to the American voter why California lags behind those, such as Florida and Texas, that the governor routinely attacks — and which enjoy large budget surpluses, rising tax revenues, generate more jobs, and, in some cases, are initiating tax cuts.
Governor Newsom has been seen as the Democrats’ answer should Biden not be able to run, but critics will continue to question it – pointing at the problems in California, and the governor’s inability to solve them.
Even if Biden were to step aside, there is no guarantee that Newsom would win the nomination. California may have successfully sent its former Governor Ronald Reagan to the White House, but Newsom is no Reagan, and the country no longer dreams to be California. Many across the country see its problems as ones they’d like to avoid.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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