Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has made it clear that he has no intention of challenging President Joe Biden in a primary election. However, there are indications that he is quietly working behind the scenes to establish a national presence and build the framework for a future national campaign without appearing disloyal to Joe Biden, who has yet to make an official declaration regarding his 2024 plans
Newsom’s first indication of his interest in national politics came to light last year when he launched a campaign in Florida. In the ads, he warned Floridians that their “freedom is under attack” in their state and encouraged them to move to California, “where we still believe in freedom.”
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Although the ads were seen as a joke by many, they were a clear indication that Newsom was seeking to position himself as a Democratic leader beyond his home state. This move demonstrated Newsom’s willingness to think beyond traditional political boundaries and suggested that he had ambitions to play a larger role in the Democratic Party.
Of course, inviting Floridians to California didn’t work out so well. Heck, even his in-laws fled California for the Sunshine State.
But, even in the wake of failure, Newsom isn’t giving up. In fact, he is continuing to expand his focus beyond California. On Friday, he unveiled plans to launch an organization called the “Campaign for Democracy,” which will work to oppose Republican leaders in other states by challenging their policies.
Newsom has stated that this campaign is necessary to stop “authoritarian leaders” who are “so hell-bent on gaining power” from damaging the nation.
“We’re going on the road to take the fight to states where freedom is most under attack, where Republican leaders ban books, criminalize doctors, fire teachers, intimidate librarians, kidnap migrants, target trans kids, stoke racism, condone antisemitism, force the victims of rape and incest to carry their attacker’s baby, where they ignore the will of the people, and they make it harder to vote and easier to buy assault weapons,” Newsom said in a video shared on Twitter.
Newsom cited Republican governors in red states as targets of his new organization.
“We’re going to these states and investing in people and organizations where they’re fighting back. We know we have a big battle coming, which is why we’ll help lead the fight to make sure we elect leaders in 2024 who believe in Democracy,” he said.
NEW: I'm launching a new organization, Campaign for Democracy.
America is in an existential struggle for democracy.
Extremist Republicans are systematically attacking the very foundations of our free society — denying women equality, attacking https://t.co/dhkSqoB0db… pic.twitter.com/cvdJu9mNro
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 30, 2023
Newsom is clearly demonstrating his ambition to play a larger role on the national stage and position himself as a future leader of the Democratic Party. It’s certainly not something you would expect of a governor who should be focused on his own state.
California has lots of problems, and, instead of focusing on them, Newsom is more interested in building up a coalition of people who share his vision for the nation — a coalition that can easily serve as the foundation for a presidential campaign the moment the opportunity comes — whether it is in 2024 or 2028.
