Forty-three minutes into her interview with GAVIN NEWSOM from his trip to South Carolina last week, PBS NewsHour’s Amna Nawaz begins to contrast the governor’s heavy-handed trolling of President Trump with the subtler approach of JON OSSOFF, who set off a media firestorm with the three little words, ‘travel with Natalie.’
“He’s great,” Gavin interjects.
Nawaz finishes her question, asking whether the mockery might put off some voters.
Newsom makes clear he thinks the party needs fighters – and pivots back to the prior topic. “Jon Ossoff is an amazing fighter. He's a generational talent. We're blessed. What a bench we have of just remarkable leaders of all political stripes.”
Elsewhere in SC, Gavin tells Playbook’s Will Steakin that whoever runs for president will “have to confront PETE BUTTIGIEG because he is uniquely positioned. He’s a unique talent. He’s next-level intellect.”
Newsom is no less enthusiastic about the DSA. “It’s where a lot of the energy in the party is. So why would you ever dismiss that?”
In a third interview on the trip, Don Lemon asks about Hakeem Jeffries. “I think he is doing an incredible job,” Newsom says.
What about ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ? “She's got a big voice, AOC, and she's carved it out and she deserves it.”
Can Dems win the Texas Senate race? “100%” says Newsom, calling James Talarico “a once in a generation talent.”
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying ‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’ which is either a dogma to live by or exactly what’s wrong with the Democratic Party, depending on which Democrat you’re talking to, and on which day.
Gavin Newsom is taking that ethos to its logical endpoint. VBNMW-maxxing, if you will.
“I want it to be the Manchin to Mamdani party,” he told Jonathan Martin last year.
He is hardly the only 2028er pitching a big tent. But I’ve never seen a candidate love-bomb their putative rivals with such fanaticism.
There is a method to this madness, I think.
For starters, Gavin is constitutionally effusive, and has a preternatural gift for making everyone feel like the most important person in the room (or rather, in any room that’s ever roomed).
And I do believe he believes deeply in the politics of addition, especially in this all-hands-on-deck moment. So do I, for that matter; you simply cannot win elections by exclusion.
But it’s also a bet that there is little to be gained by sniping at fellow Dems – particularly if you are already a main character in the discourse – and much to be lost.
“I’ll never turn my back on Joe Biden,” Newsom declared on his last trip to South Carolina, which delivered the former president the 2020 nomination.
It’s not that Gavin can’t handle a little friction; to his credit, he’s probably the most risk-tolerant candidate in the field. But if you can generate ample conflict and attention just wailing on the Mad King and his sycophants, why make early intraparty enemies?
Democratic sectarianism is an endeavor best left to the spotlight-starved; the undifferentiated masses yearning to be seen.
At the end of his lengthy sitdown with Amna Nawaz, Newsom comes back once more to the viral Georgia Senator.
“I'm with you with Ossoff. I love him. Three words, fantastic. If I said three words, it may not have mattered. It's timing–”
This time, it’s Nawaz who interjects. “To be clear, I didn't say I love him. I was just asking a question about what he said.”
“No, but I do,” Newsom replied. “I actually do. I do. We all are. I mean, he’s so good on the stump. He’s a talent. We have so many–”
“Do you think he should run?” Nawaz asks.
“I think everyone should run,” Gavin enthusiastically responds. “Absolutely.”
Other takeaways from Newsom’s trip:
Californication. It’s increasingly clear Gavin’s candidacy will hinge on his ability to sell California; he’s a good salesman, but it'll be a herculean task. He’ll take hits from many sides. See: Nevada Republicans running against Newsom – blaming his policies for importing expensive gas and priced-out expats – while SC Dems fret the SF-born lib is unelectable. This is the tip of the iceberg.
Courtship. As writeups of Newsom’s SC tour acknowledged, he still has plenty of work to do with Black voters. But he’s starting from a better position than anyone other than KAMALA HARRIS; he gets a ton of credit for leading the fight to defend voting rights through Prop 50; and his prolific fundraising for the state party in SC and throughout the South is earning him a lot of goodwill.
Comeback. Newsom had an Icarian 2025, and his critics have delighted in the melting of his too-early frontrunner status, many seemingly writing him off altogether. This strikes me as a significant overcorrection. It’s worth watching some of these events and long-form interviews in full; the rizz resonates, but so too does an intellectual heft that isn’t captured in the caricatures of him. He really is – to borrow Newsonian phraseology – a generational talent.
Quick Hits
JB PRITZKER launched a new super PAC that he’ll seed with at least $20M and will target GOP-held House seats, starting with two controversial Rs in Trump +10-15 districts: Max Miller (OH-07) & Brandon Herrera (TX-23).
MARK KELLY & RO KHANNA each spent Labor Day weekend in NH, crossing paths at both an AFL-CIO breakfast in Manchester and a picnic in Amherst, among other campaign stops with local Dems in the early state.
Speaking of Labor Day crossovers, PETE BUTTIGIEG & JOSH SHAPIRO rubbed shoulders at the parade in Pittsburgh on Monday, which Pete attended after his jam-packed weekend in Ohio.
AOC continues to turn heads with intriguing outreach to various constituencies, including MAHA and faith communities; she just made an under-the-radar appearance at the National Baptist Convention in Jacksonville, where she also campaigned for FL-Sen nominee Angie Nixon.
KAMALA HARRIS will headline Fulton County Dems’ 2026 Fulton Forward dinner in Atlanta on Oct. 30 and stump for JON OSSOFF. She is also holding fundraisers for Richard Pan (CA-06) and Marni von Wilpert (CA-48).
WES MOORE told Bakari Sellers, “The truth is that I am going to be part of a bigger conversation going forward, because I think the state of Maryland, and what we’ve done, has justified that” – a comment read by some as a precursor to an eventual 2028 announcement.
Latino leaders are pressuring DGA Chair ANDY BESHEAR to invest in the surprisingly close Texas governor’s race.
RUBEN GALLEGO rolled out a new public education platform, the latest in a series of white papers he’s released over the past year as he urges fellow Dems to have an affirmative agenda.
GALLEGO visited South Texas on Thursday for events with House candidates Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) and Bobby Pulido (TX-15).
Highlights from the Big, Beautiful Tracker
KAMALA HARRIS on Why Are You Like This? with Megan Rapinoe
CHRIS MURPHY on Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
RAHM EMANUEL on The Making of a President with Peter Hamby
GAVIN NEWSOM on Settle In with PBS News & The Don Lemon Show
PETE BUTTIGIEG on Tavis Smiley
WES MOORE on The Bakari Sellers Show
