WASHINGTON — Please Democrats, nominate California Gov. Gavin Newsom for president in 2028.

There’s no doubt in my mind he’s running. Every time President Donald Trump calls the governor “Newscum,” progressives purr with approval.

Conservatives, however, have the most to gain with Newsom at the top of the ticket. Remember Kamala Harris? Newsom likely would be a repeat. Way too far to the left to play in Peoria.

What will his slogan be? “If you like sanctuary cities, you’ll love Gavin Newsom’s America.”

The attack ads against him write themselves. So run, Gavin, run.

From the moment I met Newsom, I knew he had his eyes on the White House. He was a San Francisco supervisor, a centrist Democrat (for SF, anyway) with “Care Not Cash,” a 2002 ballot measure to reform welfare for the homeless.

Then-Mayor Willie Brown had taken Newsom under his wing and put him on the Parking and Traffic Commission. So began an ambitious climb up the “cursus honorum” — parking, county supervisor, mayor, lieutenant governor, then governor of California. He’s 57, handsome and hardworking.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

All that said, Newsom has baggage that’s likely to kill him in the general election.

Start with Taxifornia. According to Intuit/TurboTax, California had the highest income tax rate in the country — 13.3 percent in 2024. If you’re super-rich, you think about leaving the Golden State and taking your money with you.

It’s not just the rich. According to PODS, the moving and storage company, Los Angeles and Northern California head the list of cities with the highest number of move-outs.

No California city makes PODS’ Top 20 list for move-ins.

Trump loves to slam the California High Speed Rail project, probably because it’s also known as The Train to Nowhere.

Originally peddled as a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco scheme that would operate at 220 miles per hour and cost some $33 billion, now it probably would take a miracle to complete a Merced-to-Bakersfield line for that amount. No wonder Trump wants to withhold $4 billion in federal funding for the fiasco.

Monday, Newsom’s Department of Education refused to sign an agreement to bar “trans girls,” aka biological males, from competing as females in K-12 sports. That puts the governor in opposition to about two-thirds of U.S. adults, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

For me, part of the California Democrat establishment’s problem has been the urge to emphasize cutting-edge policymaking instead of governing. Whenever Newsom promises something is “first in the nation,” he’s thinking about his place in woke history, not water, not the power grid, not public safety, not making it easier for Californians to get to work.

But the episode that best represents Newsom’s attitude toward public service involves COVID and fine dining.

In November 2020, Newsom was a righteous scold who embraced outdoor eating and masking up in restaurants. “Going out to eat with members of your household this weekend? Don’t forget to keep your mask on in between bites,” Newsom tweeted at the time.

Newsom also told Californians to avoid large family Thanksgiving dinners.

Newsom was seen earlier that month at the tony French Laundry restaurant in Napa eating indoors with a swell of fellow bigshots celebrating the birthday of lobbyist Jason Kinney.

Newsom later apologized for his lack of judgment, but he can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Many said the incident showed that Newsom regarded himself above the strictures he imposed on the voting public. Who can argue with that?

Worse, I suspect he knew his stay-at-home rules for “nonessential businesses, restaurants, bars and places of worship” went too far — that they limited Californians’ choices and ability to assess their own personal risk.

That’s what he did when he went to the French Laundry — and he didn’t keep a mask on in between bites.

READ MORE from Debra J. Saunders:

What Happens When Federal Prosecutors Overcharge? The Mixed Diddy Verdict

No Online Porn for Kids? Supreme Court Is OK With That

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill — It’s More Like Yogurt Than Wine

Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at [email protected]. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.

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