Gavin Newsom Says He’ll Decide on a 2028 White House Run by Early January

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will decide by early January whether to run for president in 2028. “As it relates to 2028, we’ll make that decision in the next few months,” Newsom told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency on Thursday while attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey. “I’ll make the determination at the beginning of the year. So we’ll spend the next few weeks with the family and make a decision early January.”

Newsom, who is term-limited and leaves office in January, also celebrated the Democrats’ midterm sweep. “Donald Trump’s presidency, as we know it, ended last week in the U.S.,” he said. “It was a historic rebuke of his tenure, and now it’s incumbent upon those that were successful to govern and to lead my party.”

Details & Background

Newsom has long been mentioned as a top Democratic contender for 2028, alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia. But his path could be complicated by fellow Californian Kamala Harris, the party’s 2024 nominee. In a September interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Newsom said, “I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see. But I wouldn’t run if she ran.”

Pressed by Tapper on that pledge, Newsom said, “Of course not. Why would I? I wouldn’t do that to her … I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?” Harris has not announced whether she will make another run. Newsom also warned in that interview that a crowded field could lead to what he called “mutual-assured destruction” among Democrats competing for the nomination. Fox News has reported that Newsom has also sought counsel from former President Bill Clinton as he weighs his next steps, and other Democrats, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, are already positioning themselves for roles on the 2028 ticket.

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Tapper pushed back on Newsom during the September interview, arguing that voters might see things differently. “But [the] counterargument would be, like, you know, she had her shot. And you’ve never run, and she’s run twice,” Tapper said. Newsom agreed that would be a strong pitch: “Yeah. I mean, that’d be the approach to the campaign, certainly. That’d be the case you’d make. Pretty good one, actually. That’s objectively true.”

In his comments in Turkey, Newsom said the Democratic Party must now offer voters more than opposition to Trump. “The Democratic Party now has to set forth a positive alternative agenda to Donald Trump,” he said. Newsom added that he was “particularly pleased with the outcome of the election,” in which Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate along with several traditionally Republican strongholds.

Why This Matters to You

Newsom has led California through years of high taxes, soaring housing costs, homelessness and battles with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement. A Newsom presidential campaign would put that record, and his vision for national policy, at the center of the 2028 race. Voters across the country would be weighing whether the California model should be applied to the entire nation. For conservatives, a Newsom candidacy would be a chance to make the case against policies they say have driven families and businesses out of California.

His decision will also shape the Democratic field. Whether he runs, and whether Harris enters the race, could determine if the party chooses a familiar face or a new one, and whether it moves toward the center or further left. With Democrats emboldened by their midterm wins, the January decision will be one of the first big signals of who will lead the party into the fight to replace President Trump.