Following a September interview with Gavin Newsom, former President Bill Clinton came away convinced that Newsom possesses the qualities needed to win a presidential election.

According to Politico, sources close to the 79-year-old former president reveal that Clinton is notably impressed by the California governor’s capabilities.

Governor Newsom has already indicated his interest in pursuing a presidential bid for 2028 and has been making calculated moves to capture national attention.

Adding to the praise, Willie Brown, a key figure in California politics and former San Francisco mayor—a position Newsom once held—as well as a former California State Assembly Speaker, has described Newsom as “big time.”

In a conversation with Politico, Brown remarked, “He’s the movie star.”

It is now evident that Newsom is emerging as the leading contender for the Democratic nomination in the 2028 presidential race.

Part of that is thanks to the failure of another Californian, 2024 Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Politico reporter Jonathan Martin revealed how he was with Newsom in California for the 2022 midterms, races that didn’t result in a red Republican wave as some had predicted, which emboldened Democratic President Joe Biden’s quest for reelection. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched some rather strategic moves to get on America’s radar

Bill Clinton, photographed during the balloon drop at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, said he believes Newsom can win a presidential race, sources told Politico 

The pair sit down for a gushy 30-minute chat at Clinton’s climate event in September

The magazine writer said he overheard Newsom on the phone telling Biden that he supported his bid, despite polling showing that Americans were seriously concerned about Biden’s age. 

Biden didn’t pull out of the race until July 2024, after his disastrous general election debate, quickly endorsing Harris to take his place. 

‘Instead of staring down the prospect of Biden’s re-election and likely Kamala Harris nomination four years later – which would have pushed Newsom’s White House ambitions back to at least 2032 – the governor watched as the two leading Democrats collapsed months apart last year,’ Martin wrote. 

Elsewhere, Newsom is penning a new memoir that will be released in February, generally a rite of passage for any presidential candidate. 

The California Governor, who sat down for a gushy 30-minute chat with Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York last month, has become a key figure in the anti-Trump resistance.

It came after the President activated the National Guard and sent in the Marines to quell protests against Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s mass deportation policies. 

The very online politician has used social media platforms to mock Trump’s online behavior, complete with AI-generated content and capital letters. 

Two weeks ago, on election night, Newsom’s gamble to ask California voters to choose to redistrict the state in favor of Democrats – to cancel out a similar move made by Republicans in Texas – also paid off. 

The ballot initiative was affirmed by voters overwhelmingly, with the race called as the polls closed. 

The balloon drop at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton can be seen onstage alongside their family members 

California Governor Gavin Newsom (right) takes a victory lap on election night after a ballot initiative he backed to redistrict the state to favor Democrats overwhelmingly passed 

Talking to Politico, Newsom said ‘the way back for the Democratic Party is about how we work around what appears for some to be this immovable object, Trump and Trumpism.’ 

Democrats have politically split on what will appeal more to the American electorate -a candidate who hugs closer to the political middle or a progressive in the fashion of Senator Bernie Sanders or Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

‘I want it to be the Manchin to Mamdani party. I want it to be inclusive,’ Newsom said was his take, referencing former Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. 

Where Newsom stands on that Democratic divide, he’s been cagey about. 

When Martin asked if Newsom identified as a progressive, he replied, ‘I’m a hard-headed pragmatist.’

‘Once a mayor, always a mayor – get things done,’ Newsom replied when Martin asked again.

‘I don’t want to be labeled,’ the California governor also offered, saying he finds it ‘reductive.’

Brown, who hired a 28-year-old Newsom to serve on San Francisco’s Parking and Traffic Commission, said he didn’t know what the current governor actually believes.

‘I never asked him,’ Brown told Politico. ‘For fear he doesn’t know!’