Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t endorsed any candidate running to succeed him.
But he does believe members of his own party who are trailing in polls in the race for governor should bow out to give higher-polling Democrats a shot at advancing to the November general election.
The termed-out governor offered his opinion during a talk in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, March 4, the same day California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks urged Democratic candidates without a viable path to winning to drop out.
“I confess, I agree,” Newsom told the audience at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, where he was promoting his new book, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.”
“At this moment in history, … for California — the most un-Trump state in America — to have a Republican Trumper running, there is no margin for error,” Newsom said, though it was not clear if he was referring specifically to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco or former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
Just before asking Newsom if he thought non-viable candidates should step aside, Jon Favreau — who moderated the evening’s talk alongside fellow Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor — called Newsom “irreplaceable.”
“Did you hear that? ‘Irreplaceable.’ Here’s to third terms,” Newsom quipped before immediately saying to a laughing audience, “Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
“Do you have a hat?” Favreau asked.
More on the governor’s race
Democratic candidates for California governor without a ‘viable’ path to win should drop out, party leader says These are the candidates for California governor in 2026 In the race for governor, Steve Hilton has a new target: fellow Republican Chad Bianco How California governor candidates say they will tackle homelessness How California governor candidates say they will tackle environmental issuesThe lighthearted exchange may have been a reference to President Donald Trump, who has at times suggested he’d like to seek a third term and had “Trump 2028” hats displayed on his desk during a meeting with congressional leaders last October.
Newsom has long been a chief political adversary of Trump’s. On Tuesday, he continued to denounce the actions and policies of the Republican president, from Trump’s order to strike Iran over the weekend without, Newsom alleged, having a strategy, to his administration’s ongoing immigration raids that have heavily impacted California.
The evening’s conversation meandered between critiquing Trump and teasing moments from Newsom’s memoir. The governor, who is widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, offered details about his personal life as he seeks to shape a narrative about who he is and who he has become.
Newsom said writing the book forced him to confront his past, including when his father left the family and the struggles his mother went through as a single parent.
“This book was cathartic. It’s not a sanitized politician book,” Newsom said.
Newsom said he questioned his own image, “that slick guy and the whole thing.”
“I mean, I get it. I’m not naive about that,” he said. “And so this was my opportunity to tell a different story.”
And Newsom, who has often talked about his dyslexia, did so again Tuesday.
“My whole life I felt dumb,” Newsom said, speaking of how he resented his mother for once telling him it was OK to be “average.”
But in the process of writing the book, Newsom said, he realized she meant it was OK for him to be himself. He spoke of having to find ways to compensate for his learning disability.
“I’m here because of it,” he said, talking about the resiliency he developed as a result.
While that line drew applause from a largely friendly crowd, the evening was also interrupted by three people who, at different times, shouted at Newsom from their seats in the balcony before being escorted out by security.
Later in the evening, when Favreau mentioned that as mayor of San Francisco in 2004, Newsom defied what was state law at the time and ordered marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex couples, the audience whistled and applauded.
Newsom, though, recently drew criticisms from some in the LGBTQ+ community. Last week, the governor told CNN that the Democratic Party needed to be “more culturally normal” and “less prone to spending a disproportionate amount of time on pronouns, identity,” while emphasizing kitchen table issues like energy costs and child care.
That led the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus to criticize Newsom.
“It’s deeply concerning for anyone, especially our elected leaders, to be defining who or what is ‘culturally normal.’ By definition, it implies someone else is ‘not normal,’” the caucus said in a statement.
The group further stated: “We cannot adopt the language of MAGA extremists who in the last year are actively seeking to roll back the rights of women, LGBTQ+ individuals and marginalized communities.”
Newsom will continue his book tour with a talk planned in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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