On Wednesday, three years early, the California Nurses Association announced that it was endorsing Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2018 gubernatorial bid.
Last February, Newsom announced he would run in 2018, saying, “The reality of running for governor–even four years from now –in America’s largest, most diverse state demands that I start raising resources now if we’re going to lead a conversation worthy of the 38 million people who live, work, attend school and raise families in the Golden State.”
The California Nurses Association, comprised of 90,000 California nurses, made its announcement at a rally in Los Angeles. CNA executive director RoseAnn DeMoro told CBS Sacramento, “It was just a given that we would, of course, endorse somebody who embraces all of our values. We know the landscape and you know, there are people who are progressive, it’s true. Gavin, he scores across the board, he’s the A-student.”
DeMoro cited Newsom’s support for a single-payer health system, lower nurse-patient ratios and gay marriage.
DeMoro did not mention Newsom’s 100% pro-choice rating from NARAL Pro-Choice California.
The Nurses Association has acted as a stalwart supporter of Democrats, going as far as urging 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s former maid to state publicly that she worked illegally so that Whitman’s race against Jerry Brown could be damaged.
DeMoro implicitly acknowledged how far left her association’s positions were, attesting that Newsom had outflanked any other Democratic challengers: “I would feel bad for anyone who runs against him in the primary, on our side as progressives, because there’s no space.”