During a September gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, former President Bill Clinton conducted an interview with California’s Governor Gavin Newsom. Clinton, impressed with Newsom’s abilities, suggested that the governor possesses the qualities necessary for a successful presidential campaign. The 79-year-old ex-president noted Newsom’s potential, who at 58 is already contemplating a run in the 2028 election. Adding to the chorus of support, Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco and ex-speaker of the California State Assembly, described Newsom as “big time” in a conversation with Politico’s Jonathan Martin.

“He’s the movie star,” Brown remarked, emphasizing Newsom’s appeal. Martin’s article delves into the obvious: Newsom stands as a leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic nomination. This is partly due to the setbacks faced by another Californian, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was the Democratic nominee for 2024. Martin recounted an encounter with Newsom during the 2022 midterms, noting that the anticipated Republican surge did not materialize, thereby strengthening President Joe Biden’s efforts for reelection.

Martin observed an exchange between Newsom and Biden on election night, where Newsom expressed his support for Biden’s campaign despite public concerns over the president’s age. Biden eventually withdrew from the 2024 race in July, after a poor performance in the general election debate, and promptly endorsed Harris as his successor. “Rather than facing the possibility of Biden’s re-election and a likely Harris nomination four years later—which would have delayed Newsom’s presidential aspirations to at least 2032—the governor witnessed the downfall of these leading Democrats in quick succession,” Martin noted.

Since then, Newsom has made some strategic moves to get on America’s radar. He’s penning a new memoir that will be released in February, generally a rite of passage for any presidential candidate. The California governor became a key figure in the anti-Trump resistance, 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 governor started using social media platforms to mock the president’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. 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!’