Just when you thought California politics couldn’t get any weirder, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom has made noises about running for president. He hasn’t made his intentions clear, but why put on political ads in Florida just to take jabs at its governor and Republican presidential aspirant?
Of course, Democrats have become leery about a second Joe Biden term. In a poll just released by the University of New Hampshire, only 31 percent of New Hampshire Democrats want President Biden to run for a second term. Support for Biden re-election plummets among Democrats in first presidential primary state New Hampshire: poll | Fox News This tiny state, which has typically held the first in the nation presidential primary for over a century, has outsized influence in presidential politics.
Vice-President Kamala Harris, who never really had a tough election in what has become a one- party state, also suffers from voter fatigue. In a FiveThirtyEight poll released on July 17th Harris’ job approval rating has dropped to 37.7 percent. Enter Gavin Newsom . . .
California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Photo by Josh Thompson
After surviving a recall election by a wide margin last year, Newsom must think he is bulletproof. If California was ever a bell weather state, however, it ceased to do so a long time ago. Its politics have continued to go Left, right into the Pacific Ocean. As it now stands, past Republican governors Pete Wilson, George Deukmejian, or even Ronald Reagan could not get elected in a statewide contest.
If Democrats ever nominated Newsom, his opponents would remind voters of his dining at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley during the height of the pandemic. While many restaurants folded after having endured the Covid-19 lockdowns, Newsom and his lobbyist friends ate dinner at this lavish Michelin three-star fine dining establishment. The basic nine-course meal costs $350 per person. The wine list includes vintages priced at $35 per glass up to several hundred dollars per bottle. No one wore masks or was socially distanced at the governor’s birthday affair and that became a hot-button issue during the recall. This incident just begs for an attack ad in an upcoming presidential campaign.
Roasted quail with a warm arugula salad and grape reduction sauce (that says it all)
photo by lmungo
Again, a Newsom opponent would remind voters of church closures, prolonged school closures, rising crime and a population that declined for the first time in the state’s history. California's population decline has big impacts - CalMatters
Public Policy Institute of California demographer Hans Johnson writes, “Lower levels of international migration, declining birth rates, and increases in deaths all play a role. But the primary driver of the state’s population loss over the past couple years has been the result of California residents moving to other states.” (emphasis added) California's population decline has big impacts - CalMatters
Of course, the irony is that Newsom’s ads beckon Floridians to move to California when it has been going in the opposite direction for the last two decades. If not for births and immigration, California would have had a net loss in population every year since 2001. The Golden State has lost its glimmer and people have chosen to go elsewhere. (Ibid)
Homeless encampment known as Box City in San Francisco, California
Photo by throgers
Do Floridians really want to live in a state with homeless encampments lining the streets in urban areas? Do they want to shop in stores with rampant retail theft where under state law any 10 fingered discount valued at $950 or less is simply a misdemeanor which local district attorneys often refuse to prosecute? How about living in a state that experimented with zero bail policies during the Covid-19 epidemic which sometimes resulted in deadly consequences? California’s Zero-Bail Policies Have Been A Deadly Failure - Citizens Journal
Local shoppers out for a stroll in Oakland, California
Photo by Thomas Hawk
Even in the face of tragic incidents resulting from the two-year experiment with zero bail, Newsom supported Proposition 25 which would have done away with the bail system forever. California voters had more sense and turned him down.
In response to the former mayor of San Francisco’s veiled attack ad on Gov. Ron Desantis, Desantis responded by saying, “San Francisco is a dumpster fire.”
Typical day in San Francisco?
Photo by Suzanne Hamilton
He also tweeted, "California is driving people away with their terrible governance...it's almost hard to drive people out of a place like California...and yet they're finding a way to do it."
Democrats may look at Newsom as a fresh face from the Golden State that can win in 2024, but that fresh face has a record that voters will learn about should he decide to run in two years.