The Sacramento Bee, the hometown paper to the California state capitol, has a new piece openly questioning whether their governor will run for president. ‘Gavin Newsom running for president? His fundraising strategy signals White House aspirations.’
Newsom’s name has been getting tossed around as a presidential candidate for a long time now. And now, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tentatively agreeing to debate Newsom on a Fox News moderated debate, the Newsom-running-for-president rumors should only intensify.
But as The Sacramento Bee article’s title suggests, it’s not just debates or hearsay fueling the presidential rumors, but Newsom’s own fundraising procedures.
Gavin Newsom Fundraising Like a Presidential Candidate
“Gov. Gavin Newsome is taking fundraising steps often used by potential presidential candidates,” The Bee reported, “setting up multiple committees that in their first three months have raised and spent millions of dollars.”
The article continued: “The three Newsom-affiliated committees are a political action committee, which limits contributions to $5,000 a year and can donate to individual candidates; a SuperPAC, which can raise unlimited amounts of cash but is restricted from promoting a specific candidate, and a joint fundraising committee, which functions like a bank, mostly collecting and distributing funds to the other groups.”
To date, Newsom has been a loyal, little soldier – staying in line and waiting his turn within the Democratic Party. Repeatedly, Newsom has denied having any intention of a 2024 presidential bid. He probably means it. The Democratic Party has congealed around its octogenarian incumbent. The Dems won’t even be hosting debates, knowing full well that if they did, their increasingly feeble-minded figurehead would probably lose the night to a self-help author.
So, Newsom probably won’t blow his political capitol running uphill against an Establishment calcified in support of President Biden. Instead, Newsom will probably wait until 2028.
“Whether President Joe Biden wins or loses, there will be no Democratic incumbent in 2028. As governor of the nation’s largest state, the big winner of two elections and a recall, Newsom would be well-positioned for a White House run,” The Bee reported.
And the way Newsom has positioned his fundraising committees will position him to explore the prospects of a presidential run without declaring his intentions.
“For someone who has an interest in launching a presidential campaign, these are the first steps you’d take,” said Brendan Glavin, a senior data analyst at Open Secrets. “I wouldn’t say it’s set in stone, but certainly you wouldn’t do all of these things if you weren’t thinking about it.”
Nathan Click, Newsom’s campaign advisor, denied that Newsom was posturing himself for a White House run. “That’s not what this is about,” Click said. “This is all about going deep into the reddest states and helping Democrats where they’re on the defense.”
I don’t buy that. Do you? As of yesterday, Newsom is slated to debate Ron DeSantis who is of course a presidential candidate. Why would Newsom be interested in such a debate if Newsom too did not harbor federal ambitions? Debating DeSantis doesn’t have a ton of value within the borders of California where DeSantis, whose jurisdiction terminates at the border of Florida, some 2,000 miles away from California, has no power.
Gavin Newsom wants to be the future of the Democratic Party – and he’s building the financial infrastructure to ascend.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor and opinion writer at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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