Politico is already elevating California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the Democratic Party’s presumed savior for 2028.
The outlet published a glowing Saturday column declaring Newsom the “frontrunner” to win back the White House.
Politico has declared the “frontrunner” three years before the race even begins, and despite Newsom not even officially launching his campaign yet.
The piece was written by Politico senior political columnist Jonathan Martin.
Martin argues that Newsom has spent the past two years positioning himself as the most viable Democrat capable of reclaiming the presidency from President Donald Trump’s second-term administration.
“No Democrat has had a better two years than Gavin Newsom, and because of it, the California governor — a national figure since he was a 36-year-old boy mayor — has claimed a new title: front-runner,” Martin wrote.
Martin claimed Newsom’s combination of traditional political credentials and his aggressive, highly online style makes him uniquely suited for the modern Democrat electorate.
He compared Newsom to past Democrats such as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, all of whom were younger politicians who campaigned as outsiders while still enjoying insider approval.
“Newsom fits neatly in the tradition … while claiming enough insider credentials to reassure party mandarins,” Martin wrote.
He continued by adding that Newsom is also “the best-positioned Democrat according to the new rules of politics — namely, whether you are or can become famous by breaking through on social media.”
The column also highlighted Newsom’s stated goal of keeping the Democratic Party broad enough to accommodate both moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin and far-left figures such as Rep. Zohran Mamdani.
“I want it to be the Manchin to Mamdani party,” Newsom told Martin.
“I want it to be inclusive.”
Martin noted that the governor “isn’t fully comfortable in either faction.”
But Martin suggested Newsom’s surge is most directly tied to his willingness to publicly attack President Trump, something Politico portrays as a political asset.
According to the piece, Newsom’s clashes with Trump over California’s wildfire management early in 2025 helped elevate him on the national stage, particularly after Trump deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines into Los Angeles in response to escalating unrest.
Martin wrote that Newsom’s subsequent opposition to Trump in a heated redistricting fight further solidified his status as the “early front-runner” for Democrats in 2028.
The column also applauded Newsom’s online combativeness, arguing that his habit of mocking President Trump and his supporters “has endeared him to the sprawling anti-Trump coalition, even the Newsom skeptics among them.”
Politico’s framing makes clear that at least some within the Beltway media are already grooming Newsom as the Democrats’ best hope.
The corporate media is hanging Newsom’s national relevance almost entirely on confrontation with President Trump rather than on California’s record under his leadership.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that without Trump, Newsom has nothing.
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