California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces challenges at home, but he won’t let that stop him from mounting a quasi-presidential campaign that has piqued the interest of Democrats looking for a Plan B for President Biden on the 2024 ticket.

The Democratic governor has displayed unflinchingly loyal to the president. He appeared with him this week in California, defending the man and his policies while waving off suggestions he’s considering a run for the top job.

Political pros don’t buy it.

“That is just hogwash,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University. “They have considered it a long time, and they think he can remake the Democratic Party into a new coalition.”

Mr. McCuan said Mr. Newsom is unlikely to make the jump himself and wants to be drafted into the race so he can be seen responding to popular demand.

Rumblings of that demand are percolating.

“I would hope that Biden would step aside and let Gavin step in,” said RoseAnn DeMoro, a former national vice president and executive board member of the AFL–CIO. “The world would embrace him so warmly. He is a velvet hammer kinda guy.”

Mr. Newsom brushed aside the idea during a recent interview where he locked horns with Fox News’s Sean Hannity to defend Mr. Biden’s record on immigration, the economy, jobs, inflation and unemployment rates.

He specifically rejected the idea that Mr. Biden, 80, is not up to holding the job.

“I know he is capable. I see the results. I have seen a masterclass of results the last few years,” Mr. Newsom said. “I’m dead serious about that.”

The 55-year-old governor also pushed back against criticism leveled against California. He dismissed the idea that Democratic policies are leading to an exodus of people and businesses, and he rejected the charge that he has failed to confront homelessness and affordable housing. 

Mr. Newsom said he is “proud of the fact that working families are treated better than in California than they are in conservative states like Texas.”

Still, there are fewer of those working families in California now, with the state experiencing a shrinking population — something that was almost unthinkable in the 20th Century, when California’s population exploded.

Demographers say deaths, declining birth rates, slowing immigration and residents moving out of state all account for the decline.

California has 171,000 homeless people — roughly 30% of the national total in a state with about 12% of the U.S. population. The unemployment rate in the state is 4.5%, which is above the national average of 3.7%.

“Gavin Newsom’s failed policies have been a disaster and Californians are suffering because of them,” said Courtney Alexander, spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association. “From record levels of homelessness to a job-destroying environment, people are voting with their feet and leaving the state in droves.”

“To add to that, they’re overwhelmingly heading to Republican-led states. We’ll let that speak for itself,” she said.

None of that has dented Mr. Newsom, who cruised to reelection last year, promising voters he would serve out the full four-year term.

But with questions about the longevity swirling around Mr. Biden, few doubt Mr. Newsom would jump at a chance for a White House bid if given the opportunity.

“Every time Biden stumbles, talks about the Queen of England, makes mistakes like that, it is a good day for Gavin,” said Shawn Steel, a member of the Republican National Committee from California. 

Mr. Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this report.

Mr. Newsom started raising his national profile during last year’s campaign, including running a television ad in Florida accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders of banning books, making it harder to vote and adopting abortion bans. 

Come to freedom-loving California, Mr. Newsom told viewers.

Mr. Newsom this month also suggested criminal charges could be in the offing for Mr. DeSantis and Florida officials over a load of migrants that was flown into California.

Mr. DeSantis said Mr. Newsom should “stop pussyfooting around” and join the campaign.

“Are you going to throw your hat in the ring and challenge Joe? Are you going to get in and do it, or are you going to sit on the sidelines and chirp?” the Florida Republican said.

Mr. Newsom has also gone after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott with newspaper ads chastising his record on guns and abortion.

And this month Mr. Newsom proposed a 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to enshrine “common sense gun safety measures” into law, including universal background checks, raising the age to buy a firearm to 21 from 18, and barring the civilian purchase of military-style rifles.

Back home, Mr. Newsom is rallying support for ballot measures that ask voters to approve an overhaul of mental health laws to force counties to put more money toward housing, and a bond measure to add 10,000 beds for mental health treatment.

Ms. DeMoro, who in addition to her AFL-CIO work served as executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, said the governor’s work on mental health and drug use has been “groundbreaking.”

She also cheered his moves to constrain fossil fuels, including limits on drilling and what she called a “de facto limit on new fracking permits.”

The ballot measures could be a way for Mr. Newsom to score the sort of signature victory that has eluded him since he first took office in 2019.

“It needs to be more steak than sizzle, and right now they have a lot of sizzle,” said Mr. McCuan, the political science professor. “That is their challenge.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.