Los Angeles Times
· collected 2026-09-13 · by Anita Chabria, Mark Z. Barabak
Can his presidential hopes still take flight?
asserted
hopes → take → flight
- California’s Democratic governor leaves office in just a few months, allowing him to devote full time to a 2028 presidential run.
- Can he sell, outside the comfortable confines of California, the progressive agenda he’s lately embraced?
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he → leave → agenda
Gavin Newsom, the California governor who loves to heckle Donald Trump and talk about the “big swings” he’s taken at policy while in office, is now a lame duck.
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he → love → office
Within a few short months, he will be termed out of office and return to being a regular citizen, if not an average one.
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he → term → office
Newsom’s presidential ambitions are stronger than ever, and there’s virtually no list of Democratic hopefuls that doesn’t include his name near the top.
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that → ’ → top
Newsom has a tough road ahead to not just stay relevant, but also to forge a difficult path between keeping a national profile as a Trump-attacking defender of democracy and not getting pummeled (or worse, ignored) when he loses the safety and power of his elected office.
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he → have → office
Our columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak take a look at what the next few months, and the next year, may have in store after the governor becomes simply Mr. Newsom.
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governor → take → store
Newsom is making the most of his last leg in office.
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Newsom → make → office
Recently, he went on an election jaunt through the South, visiting the Carolinas and Alabama to help campaign and raise money in those states.
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he → go → states
The Voting Rights Project at UCLA files a lawsuit to stop Americans’ personal data from being swept up by the federal government to further Trump’s false conspiracy about illegal immigrants voting in elections.
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immigrants → file → elections
It is not his first out-of-state trip to lend a hand in campaigns, but likely one of his last as governor.
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It → lend → governor
He wouldn’t be the first elected official to have a gap year (or years) before being elected to the Oval Office — Ronald Reagan had more than five years off between being governor of California and winning the presidency — but it’s definitely a disadvantage.
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it → elect → presidency
How much do you think being out of office hurts Newsom?
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being → think → Newsom
Loyal readers of this column — thanks, we appreciate both of you! — know I’ve long looked askance at our gallivanting governor and his extracurricular, eyes-on-2028 activities.
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I → appreciate → governor
I understand that preening and politicking is way more fun and ego-enhancing than the minutiae of government in Sacramento.
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preening → understand → Sacramento
At the same time, I’m old-fashioned enough to think a person should do the job taxpayers are paying them to do.
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taxpayers → ’m → them
But, as you note, that will be a moot point soon enough.
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that → note → ?
I’m not certain being out of office will be all that great a hindrance.
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being → ’m → office
In fact, I think it offers advantages, the main one being Newsom’s freedom to devote his full time and energies to running for president.
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one → think → president
You mention Reagan; I don’t think it’s an accident he made two failed tries for the White House while serving in Sacramento.
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he → mention → Sacramento
Pete Wilson also attempted the leap from the state Capitol to Washington, and failed badly.
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Wilson → attempt → Washington
It’s tough to do both.
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It → ’ → both
As Dan Schnur, a former Wilson strategist, once put it, “There aren’t any direct flights from Sacramento to Manchester” — New Hampshire traditionally being home to the first primary — “and you can’t run the state from a cellphone at O’Hare” airport.
So I don’t think exiting office will necessarily hurt Newsom.
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exiting → put → Newsom
But I’m highly dubious of his presidential prospects nonetheless.
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I → ’m → prospects
This is definitely a wide-open race, with, I suspect, contenders not yet on any lists.
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I → suspect → lists
It’s way too early to know if Newsom will make it in the primary, but I do think he’s positioning himself in a way that differentiates him from some of the folks he may run against.
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he → ’ → folks
Andy Beshear says voters want a healer in 2028, not someone who’ll match President Trump insult for insult.
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who → say → insult
His focus on nuts and bolts makes him a popular blue governor in a very red state.
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him → make → state
Socialism is the right’s boogeyman, framed as a peril to democracy full of death panels and welfare fraud.
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Socialism → frame → panels
More than one presidential aspirant has shied away from the label for fear of supposedly losing middle-ground voters or being dragged through the “communist” muck that MAGA media such as Fox News love to sling.
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media → shy → News
In a recent PBS interview, though, Newsom didn’t disavow some democratic socialist ideas, such as Medicare for all, pointing out that California has long had a powerful progressive faction and many of the ideas considered radical for the right are run of the mill here — and potentially popular across the country.
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many → disavow → country
Newsom seems to be embracing some of those lefty stances, especially ones about affordability and opportunity.
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Newsom → seem → affordability
While affordability is going to be everyone’s platform, pairing it with big-swing policy like universal health insurance might appeal to voters tired of words without action.
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pairing → go → action
It’s a smart lane, embracing MAGA’s labels instead of defending against them, with policies even middle-ground voters might appreciate in these increasing desperate days when ground beef averages nearly $7 a pound and coffee costs more than booze.
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coffee → ’ → booze
While I’m skeptical the words “socialism” and “communism” are the talisman that President Trump and other Republicans believe, warding off what could be a dreadful midterm election for the GOP, I still believe the connotation — wacky, lefty policies — has potency among a not-insignificant slice of the electorate.
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connotation → ’m → electorate
November’s election is going to be a referendum on Trump, as Newsom himself frequently says.
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Newsom → go → Trump
We agree that no fellow Democrat is going to cede the $7-a-pound affordability argument to Newsom.
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Democrat → agree → Newsom
But to offer some differentiation, many will doubtless portray him as being a bit too out there, especially when they start making the electability argument.
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they → offer → argument
And that’s not to mention what awaits him if Newsom were to emerge as the Democratic nominee.
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Newsom → ’ → nominee
(Fun fact: In 1988, it was a Democratic primary opponent, Al Gore, who first criticized Michael Dukakis over Massachusetts’ prison-furlough program.
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who → criticize → program
…and 57 more, not listed.
