Legislator, poll: Newsom's interest in White House no surprise

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(The Center Square) – Californians say they’re not surprised that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is eying the White House.

“I think that’s the worst-kept secret on the planet,” state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told The Center Square Monday afternoon. “I think everyone knows he’s been running for president.”

By a margin greater than two to one (54% to 26%), most Californians surveyed in late April by the University of California, Berkeley said Newsom, during his final two years in office, was more focused on things that would benefit a possible presidential run than governing the state. Respondents in the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll were equally split, 46% to 46%, on whether they approved of Newsom's work as governor.

And 48% of the respondents said they believed the state was heading in the wrong direction, as opposed to 35% saying California was on the right track. In addition, 48% expressed confidence in Newsom's ability to look out for the state's interests as he deals with the Trump administration. Forty-five percent said they lacked confidence in the governor's ability to do that.

The poll was conducted among 6,201 registered voters statewide.

In a story that aired Sunday, Newsom told CBS News that he would decide after the 2026 midterm elections whether to run for president.

But Strickland accused Newsom of already thinking more about getting into the White House than governing California. 

“I think he’s been aloof and has not been a good governor,” the Republican legislator told The Center Square. “He has not been engaged in the major issues.”

The senator added he believes Newsom made the comments during “CBS Sunday Morning” to get ahead of potential Democratic primary opponent Kamala Harris, the former vice president who lost to Republican President Donald Trump in 2020, and set the stage to get campaign donations from the same sources who might fund Harris’ run. Harris, who decided against running for governor in a crowded field of Democrats, has not announced her plans for 2028.

Both Newsom and Harris served in the combined city-county municipality of San Francisco, Newsom ultimately as mayor and Harris as district attorney. Both went on to statewide elected offices: Newsom, first as lieutenant governor, then governor; Harris, as attorney general. Harris rose to the national scene with her election to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and as vice president in 2020.

Strickland advises looking at Newsom's record instead of his rhetoric. The senator pointed to the state's high taxes and high energy costs. 

For several years, California has consistently had the nation’s highest gas prices. Strickland said one reason is that the state has the highest gas tax. On Monday, AAA reported California's gas price was $4.593 a gallon, well above the national average of $3.052 a gallon.

The Center Square reached out Monday to Democratic and Republican leaders in the state Senate and Assembly, but either didn't get a response or was told they weren't available to comment.

But state Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, told The Center Square earlier Monday that Newsom is "an amazing governor and an incredible leader." Bonta said a future leadership role, whatever that may be for Newsom, "would only benefit the people of this great state and this great nation."