California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) was once regarded as a glittering star in the Democratic firmament, a surrogate for President Joe Biden and a mouthpiece for his then aspirations of a return to high office in 2024.
Newsom was once even forced to deny he harbored ambitions of replacing Biden at the top of the party ticket such was his eminence.
That was then and this is now.
Axios reports since Kamala Harris was anointed 2024 nominee in a backroom deal, you have to focus very hard to see California’s governor striding the public stage – if at all. The outlet’s Dustin Gardiner states:
Newsom has spent little time campaigning in other states since his fellow Californian leaped to the top of the Democratic ticket, an abrupt shift after barnstorming the country for Biden, especially during the turbulent final weeks of his candidacy.
The governor also had a small footprint at last week’s Democratic National Convention, opting to make the rounds on cable TV and some podcasts rather than join most of his colleagues at state breakfasts, fireside chats with reporters and on the main stage.
More than a month after the shakeup, it’s still unclear what role Harris has for Newsom, a longtime ally and sometimes rival who is a product of the same elite San Francisco political circles.
Newsom’s less-than-visible role in the unfolding Harris campaign has sparked its own raft of speculation as political observers question the governor’s status as a national surrogate and if his own future presidential ambitions can survive being pushed into the background by his fellow Californian.
Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom’s political operation, briefed Axios that the displaced governor is “all in” for Harris and dismissed any notion his own presidential prospects could be a factor in his level of involvement.
“He is totally focused the next 70 odd days on electing VP Harris, defeating Trump once and for all, and going to the mat for her campaign,” Click said in an email cited in the report, “just as he did at the convention, on Fox and elsewhere at the request of her campaign.”
Click added Newsom plans to headline a fundraiser for Harris in San Mateo County just south of San Francisco Wednesday, an event his office and the Harris campaign hadn’t previously announced.
Newsom’s camp said they’re also coordinating with Harris’ team on September campaign events even as Newsom himself even suggested, in brief remarks last week with the Los Angeles Times, that Harris might not really need a fellow Californian, Axios notes.
“At the end of the day it will be swing states that will be determinative, and if I can fill a void that others can’t, then I’ll be there,” he said.