Editorial: Newsom isn't a new man

Editorial Board, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 9, 2025

Published in Op Eds

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A leopard can’t change its spots. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping the public won’t remember that.

Democratic Party leaders are scrambling to chart a path forward after President Donald Trump won the popular vote and Republicans secured control of both houses of Congress. Newsom leads the largest state in the country. That should be a natural power base from which to launch a national campaign.

But it’s this very position that has him in a quandary. He has spent his time as governor enacting a laundry list of progressive priorities. Government-funded health care for illegal immigrants. Check. Making California a “sanctuary” for irreversible gender surgeries for minors. Check. Soft on crime legislation. Check. An advocate for a high-speed rail boondoggle. Check. A cap-and-trade scheme that has raked in billions for green projects. Check.

Often politicians can bounce to a higher office before the consequences of their policies become apparent. Newsom hasn’t been so fortunate, and people are voting with their feet. Between 2023 and 2024, California lost more net residents than any other state in the country. Even his own in-laws have left the state for Florida.

Newsom faces two problems. First, the national electorate has soured on the cultural progressivism that he has championed. Second, his big-government solutions have often been stymied by big-government regulations imposed by his own party. That’s partly why there’s little to show for Newsom’s high-profile initiatives, such as building 2.5 million new housing units by 2030.

Newsom is smart enough to realize these political vulnerabilities. So he’s trying to rebrand himself. He started a podcast to have “honest discussions with people that agree and disagree with us,” according to the podcast description.

His first guest was conservative Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. During that conversation, Newsom admitted that having biological males compete in girls’ sports was “deeply unfair.” He later interviewed liberal New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, who asked why Texas builds so many more homes than California. Gov. Newsom blamed local jurisdictions for being too restrictive. He blasted progressive cities that “don’t believe in the supply/demand framework” and “have a degrowth mindset.”

That’s a roundabout way of admitting that too much government control — a hallmark of progressivism — is the path to economic stagnation.

Newsom has correctly identified some major problems. If only he had spent two terms as governor of California fixing these problems, he would be well positioned to run for president. Oh wait.

This cynical charade may keep Newsom busy, but voters can see right through it.

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