Re-election not only prize from Newsom’s run
Gov. Gavin Newsom not only won re-election Tuesday, he also celebrated victories for some of the policies and candidates he championed, including governor candidates in other states. Many of his hand-picked appointees won election outright, and he played an instrumental role in sinking Prop. 30, a new tax to fund electric car infrastructure.
Facing an easy path to re-election, Newsom set his sights nationally by antagonizing Republicans and helping Democrats in competitive races. He ran ads in Texas and Florida criticizing the Republican governors there. He also helped raise $6 million for races other than his own, including seven Democrats running for governor in other states, said campaign spokesman Nathan Click.
Of those races, four of the candidates lost, including Charlie Crist in Florida, Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Chris Jones in Arkansas and Beto
O’Rourke in Texas. Two candidates Newsom supported — incumbent Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico and Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania — won their races.
The race for governor in Arizona was too close to call Friday morning, but Democrat Katie Hobbs, whom Newsom supported, was ahead.
Kim Nalder, a political science professor at Sacramento State, said Newsom was in part able to help in races outside California because of his victory over a recall challenge last year.
In 2021, the unsuccessful effort to recall Newsom from office generated national attention, at some points becoming the biggest political story in the country during a year when most states did not have elections.
“The recall election got a fair amount of coverage nationwide at a time when there weren’t other elections going on,” Nalder said. “He’s got this national exposure.” That exposure made him a good campaign asset for other Democrats this year, she said.
The recall also helped Newsom build his fundraising lists, which Click said helped him raise money for other candidates.
“He has one of the best email lists in the country — we often raise more (with) a single email than a traditional event,” Click said.
The work he’s doing now to help other candidates could pay off later if he decides to run for president, said Democratic consultant Rose Kapolczynski. Newsom has repeatedly denied that he plans to run for the nation’s highest office, but many political observers speculate that he’s getting ready in case President Biden decides not to run for re-election.
“Hosting a fundraiser for someone doesn’t guarantee they’ll endorse you for president in two or six years, but it does enable you to build a close relationship, meet that candidate’s donors and kitchen cabinet,” Kapolczyinski said. “Outside of California, it enables you to meet important party leaders and all of those things will be very helpful if there is a presidential campaign in his future.”
Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College, said focusing on candidates outside California likely gives fodder to his critics, but also probably helps his image with his base.
“If you don’t like Gavin Newsom, this is going to be more evidence to you that he doesn’t care about what Californians think because he doesn’t even bother to take this election seriously,” she said.
But for Democrats who are more concerned about the outcome of out-of-state races than ones within deep blue California, “this is probably going to make them think more highly of the governor because they are worried about what’s going to happen in these other races.”
Newsom celebrated on election night in downtown Sacramento at the victory party for Proposition 1, a measure to enshrine the right to an abortion in the California constitution.
“We affirmed clearly, with conviction, that we are a true freedom state,” Newsom said, praising the Prop. 1 campaign for its victory.
Newsom also celebrated the defeat of Proposition 30, a measure he campaigned aggressively against that would have raised taxes on California’s highest earners to fund clean energy programs.
Before Newsom filmed an ad bashing the proposition, it was ahead in the polls.
It lost by nearly 20 percentage points.
Newsom spent the past few days before the election campaigning for candidates in tight races for the U.S. House.
Of the three Democratic candidates in swing races he campaigned with over the weekend, Asif Mahmood lost, Christy Smith trails and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, was ahead.
The three statewide officials Newsom appointed last year all emerged victorious.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber was declared the victor in her race, Attorney General Rob Bonta won a full four-year term and Sen. Alex Padilla was elected to a six-year term in the seat that was vacated when Kamala Harris was elected vice president.