Commentary: Front-runner or flash in the pan? Sizing up Newsom, 2028
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The 2028 presidential election is more than 1,000 days away, but you’d hardly know it from all the speculation and anticipation that’s swirling from Sacramento to the Washington Beltway.Standing at the center of attention is California Gov.Gavin Newsom, fresh off his big victory on Proposition 50, the backatcha ballot measure that gerrymandered the state’s congressional map to boost Democrats and offset a power grab by Texas Republicans.Newsom is bidding for the White House, and has been doing so for the better part of a year, though he won’t say so out loud.
Is Newsom the Democratic front-runner or a mere flash in the pan?Times columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z.Barabak disagree on Newsom’s presidential prospects, and more.
Here the two hash out some of their differences.Barabak: So is the presidential race over, Anita? Should I just spend the next few years backpacking and snowboarding in the Sierra and return in January 2029 to watch Newsom iterate, meet the moment and, with intentionality, be sworn in as our nation’s 48th president?The spotlight of Proposition 50 has gone cold.How can Gov.
Gavin Newsom remain nationally relevant in his run for the White House?Chabria: You should definitely spend as much time in the Sierra as possible, but I have no idea if Newsom will be elected president in 2028 or not.That’s about a million light-years away in political terms.
But I think he has a shot, and is the front-runner for the nomination right now.He’s set himself up as the quick-to-punch foil to President Trump, and increasingly as the leader of the Democratic Party.
Last week, he visited Brazil for a climate summit that Trump ghosted, making Newsom the American presence.And in a recent (albeit small) poll, in a hypothetical race against JD Vance, the current Republican favorite, Newsom lead by three points.
Though, unexpectedly, respondents still picked Kamal...