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.
FAKE ACCENT OF THE MONTH:
Gavin Newsom is currently in South Carolina talking like a black pastor.
Here we go again.
— Vince Dao (@VinceDaoTV) July 9, 2025
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.
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