Gavin Newsom Has a Big Problem: It's California

https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/07/10/gavin-newsom-has-a-big-problem-
its-california-n2191481

The odds that California's impeccably coiffed Governor Gavin Newsom will 
be seeking the 2028 Democratic nomination are greater than zero, and he's 
sure been making moves in that direction. The guy makes no bones about 
being ambitious, and after the governor's chair, there's really only one 
place he can go that seems like a promotion. The problem is that, in any 
state outside of California, especially the vital swing states, Governor 
Newsom has two big problems. The first one is the record of the state of 
California under his governorship. The second one, he looks at in the 
mirror every morning when he shaves.

His recent visit to South Carolina, as I reported recently... happened.

See Also: When You See Gavin Newsom in South Carolina, You Know He's 
Running for POTUS

Now, Politico has some more news on just how that Palmetto State tour 
worked out.

Gavin Newsom packed church pews and community centers and cafes as he 
sprinted across this early primary state, the whooping crowds a sign of 
the opening the California governor may have in the Democratic 
presidential contest here.

But for all the fanfare, Newsom’s visit laid bare, too, the early 
indications of what could become a drag on his likely campaign — a sense 
among some Democrats in South Carolina that California’s liberal 
reputation may hobble him.

You don't say. South Carolina's former Governor Jim Hodges expressed some 
doubts:

“He’s a very articulate person, and clearly he’s charismatic,” said Jim 
Hodges, the most recent Democratic governor of South Carolina, a heavily-
Republican state. “The larger concerns that he has to allay are related to 
California, and the feeling many have that California is not 
representative of the rest of the country in terms of its politics. He’s 
got to overcome that.”

Ay, there's the rub. How can he overcome all this? How can he appeal to 
enough people who aren't progressive California Democrats to win the White 
House?

How can Gavin Newsom overcome his disastrous mayorship of San Francisco, 
during which the city's homeless population exploded and the city had to 
start handing out "poop maps" to tourists?

How can Gavin Newsom overcome what's happened to California under his 
watch? How can he overcome taking the once-Golden State from a nearly $100 
billion budget surplus to an over $30 billion shortfall? Other states 
dealt with the COVID mess without dropping past the fiscal event horizon. 
How does he explain to moderate swing-state Democrats California's booming 
homeless problems, the deterioration of San Francisco, and Los Angeles? 
How does he explain having the largest illegal alien population in the 
country, per capita? How does he explain his continued insistence on 
allowing boys to play in girls' sports in California schools? 

How does he square that circle convincingly enough to sway independents 
and moderate Democrats to vote for him, especially in those key swing 
states - all of which, remember, Donald Trump won, convincingly, in 2024? 

That's a tall order.

Gavin Newsom, as RedState's own Jennifer Van Laar reported at the time, 
has tried this before:

See Also: As We Predicted, Gavin Newsom's Schtick Isn't Going Over Well 
With Democrats in Red States

At that time, Jennifer wrote:

In columns over the years, and on countless media appearances in which I’m 
asked for my opinion about various California Democrats seeking higher 
office, I’ve consistently made the observation that California Democrats 
have a very tough time getting traction outside of the state because 
they’ve never been challenged on their positions or been held accountable 
by the media in any way. They don’t even need to give campaign speeches or 
long-form interviews because at this point they don’t need to. So, like 
Kamala Harris, once the rest of the country gets to see what they’re all 
about, they’re not fans.

Gavin Newsom is the latest California political superstar to suffer this 
fate, and he hasn’t even declared for POTUS yet. Over the last week or so 
he’s been traveling to red states, acting like the savior who’ll be 
bringing enlightenment to the rubes stuck there. Unsurprisingly, for 
anyone who’s ever lived outside a narcissistic bubble, that doesn’t go 
over well, especially in the South.

That's what seems to have happened in this latest trip outside the 
California bubble that Gavin Newsom lives in. The fact is, he's just not 
able to relate to anyone outside the "progressive" echo chamber, and when 
he tries, he comes off badly. He doesn't seem sincere, he doesn't seem 
genuine, and honestly, he doesn't seem very well-informed. He tries to be 
urbane, but he just comes off as slimy, and not just because of his hair. 

Here's the problem Governor Newsom has: He's a phony. When he tries to go 
outside his usual bubble, that becomes very apparent, very quickly. A 
little Gavin Newsom goes a long way - one might even say, a little dab'll 
do ya.

Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters 
reject its globalist agenda.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
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Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
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queer liberal democrat donors.