If and when Gavin Newsom launches a campaign for president, economic and social conditions in the California he’s governed for two terms will be in the spotlight.
While Newsom brags incessantly about the state and its achievements, its chronic problems, such as a high level of homelessness, are obvious to anyone. Political media and his rivals will focus on them with laser-like intensity.
Given the dynamics of last year’s presidential contest, in which worries about rising costs of living played a role in Californian Kamala Harris’s loss to Donald Trump, California’s very high costs for housing and other fundamental living needs, would be fodder for attacks on Newsom in 2028…