Gavin Newsom gambles on former president ahead of 2028 White House race

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a high-risk political bet as the race for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination slowly begins to take shape.

The termed-out governor, who has openly contemplated a 2028 White House bid, is standing by former President Joe Biden despite growing efforts by some Democrats to move beyond the Biden era.

While several potential White House contenders have criticized Biden’s record or questioned his decision to seek reelection in 2024, Newsom has charted a different course — repeatedly praising his accomplishments, defending his character and maintaining close ties with his family.

The strategy could pay dividends in a Democratic primary but become a liability in a general election, according to political strategist Matt Klink.

“It may help Gavin Newsom win the Democratic primary, but it destroys him in the general election,” Klink, president of Klink Strategies, told The California Post. “Democrats keep nominating candidates who can’t win because they lack broad appeal.”

“Gavin Newsom is sprinting down the same road — an out-of-touch, progressive California Democrat who wants to make the United States look like California. That’s a scary thought for most of the country,” he added.

Newsom has spent much of the past year publicly defending Biden’s record even as other Democrats have attempted to turn the page on the former president.

Speaking to a crowd in South Carolina earlier this year, Newsom declared: “I’ll never turn my back on Joe Biden.”

The governor has also praised Biden’s legislative achievements, describing his administration as “a masterclass of policymaking” during an interview earlier this year and calling him “one of the most successful presidents in the last century” during a television appearance last fall.

Last week, Newsom further addressed his ties to the Biden family by hosting the former president’s son Hunter Biden on his podcast. During the conversation, Hunter Biden repeatedly hinted at Newsom’s presidential ambitions and joked: “I’ll come campaign for you or against you, whatever helps most.”

Newsom’s continued embrace of the now-83-year-old former president comes despite lingering divisions within the Democratic Party — even two years later — over Biden’s decision to seek reelection in 2024.

Biden ultimately ended his campaign on July 21, 2024, after months of mounting concerns about his age and fitness for office, culminating in a widely criticized debate performance against Donald Trump.

While many Democrats praised Biden for stepping aside, others have argued that his decision to run for reelection in the first place deprived the party of a competitive primary and left Democrats scrambling to unite behind a nominee just months before Election Day.

Some prominent Democrats have since questioned whether Biden waited too long to exit the race, contending that Vice President Kamala Harris had insufficient time to build an independent national campaign after becoming the party’s nominee.

The public embrace comes as the Democratic field for 2028 remains unsettled.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris continues to lead most early Democratic primary polling. A recent Center Square Voters’ Voice survey found Harris backed by 27% of Democratic and left-leaning voters, nearly double Newsom’s 14%, although both figures represented declines from earlier polls.

The survey also found Harris performed particularly well among black voters, while Newsom maintained an advantage among older voters, capturing 23% support among Democrats aged 65 and over. Another recent poll by Emerson College showed Newsom at 16% and Harris at 10%, highlighting how fluid the race remains more than two years before the first votes are cast.

Newsom’s calculation appears to hinge partly on Biden retaining goodwill among key Democratic constituencies, especially black and Latino voters who have remained more favorable toward the former president than the broader electorate.

But Klink argued that loyalty alone may not be enough.

“Newsom’s loyalty to Joe Biden may buy him some warmth in the Democrat presidential primary, but loyalty to a failed president is a thin foundation,” he said. “Black and Latino voters care about kitchen-table issues, and the Biden-Harris record on inflation and the border didn’t exactly deliver for them.”

The governor’s close association with Biden also carries political baggage.

Newsom was among the most vocal defenders of Biden’s fitness for office following the president’s disastrous debate performance against President Trump in June 2024.

Months later, Newsom acknowledged that a fundraiser in Southern California had left some attendees “taken aback,” though he attributed the episode to Biden’s grueling travel schedule and jet lag.

Critics say those remarks could come back to haunt him.

“Gavin Newsom called Joe Biden ‘sharp,’ then quietly blamed jet lag for the debate meltdown,” Klink said. “With all the information that’s now public, that statement doesn’t demonstrate loyalty; it creates a massive credibility problem waiting to be exploited. Every opponent in 2028 has that clip queued up and ready to go.”

Whether Newsom is intentionally positioning himself as Biden’s political successor remains an open question, but his actions have fueled speculation that he is.

“It appears that Gavin Newsom is doing exactly that, and heirs inherit debts as well as assets,” Klink said. “Claiming the Biden mantle means owning the border crisis, the inflation hangover, the disaster in Afghanistan, and the cover-up of a president’s obvious cognitive decline.”

Newsom has elevated his national standing through high-profile battles with Trump, a national, even international travel schedule, and the rollout of a new memoir, all while positioning himself for a potential 2028 presidential bid.

But as the California governor enters the final two years of his tenure, his increasingly vocal embrace of Biden may strike some Democrats as a politically risky calculation.

“The risk that Gavin Newsom inherits Joe Biden’s liabilities is enormous. He is walking into it with eyes wide open,” Klink said.

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