I’m with Calheel on this. I know some of y’all love Gavin Newsom, but I really think a lot of voters are going to see through him.
The man looks like a political product designed in a lab: slick, polished, never off message. In this political moment, people are desperate for someone who feels real. Someone who talks like they’ve actually lived some of what regular people are going through. Newsom doesn’t hit that note in my opinion.
Now imagine him up against someone like J.D. Vance. Someone who has a compelling personal story and knows how to tell it in a way that hits the populist notes. Vance would lean into that every day. “I came from nothing. Newsom came from Napa money and political connections.” He’d be hammering that contrast while Newsom is talking about green energy grants and metrics.
I’m not saying I like Vance. Obviously I don’t. But I do think he understands how to perform authenticity in a way that a lot of swing voters respond to. Newsom, by contrast, feels more like a segment on MSNBC. That might excite liberals who follow politics closely, but it won’t move disaffected or working class voters who already feel alienated from the system.
Nominate Newsom, and we risk walking right into a repeat of 2016. Flashy, confident, polished candidate who completely misses the emotional mood of the country.