It has long been speculated that Gavin Newsom, an ultra-progressive politician who survived a recall effort in his state after dissatisfaction with his COVID-19 policies, was eyeing a run for the White House.
In fact, he's even gone so far as to run negative ads and put up billboards criticizing Ron DeSantis in a bid to separate himself from the popular Florida governor.
It appears, though, that Newsom has decided to forgo a run for President in 2024 - at least if Joe Biden is running. This comes via a piece at POLITICO this morning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has won three elections in five years in America’s largest state, is apoplectic about his party’s messaging defects and follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the right-wing media ecosystem with a zeal that would put some opposition researchers to shame.
But Newsom wants the word to go forth: He’s not going to challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024.
You can read more of my thoughts on this at RedState.
But, the overall 2024 picture still looks nothing short of chaotic. There is a host of Republican candidates aside from Donald Trump looking to jump in. Trump has already declared. He has to in order to keep raising money. Most people expect Ron DeSantis to jump in, and after his re-election win in Florida, his nationwide numbers are soaring.
On the Democratic side, Biden says he’s running. Newsom has now said he won’t if Biden is running. But if Biden doesn’t, that’s a whole new can of worms. Who succeeds Biden? Is it someone from his own administration, like Kamala Harris or Pete Buttigieg? Or will it be someone from the outside, like Bernie Sanders (again) or Gavin Newsom?
The key for Republicans, as I’ve been saying pretty repeatedly on my show lately, is that Republicans have to learn their lessons from 2022 in order to be successful in 2024. Hopefully, they do.