Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, whose brief 2020 presidential bid collapsed the moment voters saw him on a debate stage, is now positioning himself as a serious contender to run the nations largest state.
According to Western Journal, Steyer has emerged as a notable figure in Californias jungle primary for governor, a race in which all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot and the top two advance to the general election. A Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll conducted March 9-15 placed Steyer at 10 percent support, just 7 points behind the current leader, former Fox News personality Steve Hilton, and a dramatic rise from the 1 percent he registered in October.
That same survey shows Steyer ahead of two establishment Democrats with extensive government rsums: former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, by 5 and 6 percentage points, respectively. He also trails the two leading Democratic hopefuls U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell and former Rep. Katie Porter by a mere 3 points, underscoring how quickly his candidacy has gained traction in a crowded field.
For a man once dismissed as a fringe environmentalist nutjob activist, Steyer is suddenly a figure to be reckoned with in a state that has long served as a laboratory for progressive governance. Yet the question looming over his campaign is simple: What does he actually think of the current governor, Gavin Newsom, and the record he now seeks to inherit or repudiate?
On that point, Steyers answer has raised more eyebrows than confidence, particularly among voters who expect a would-be governor to have at least followed the last eight years of state leadership. Appearing on KCRA-TVs California Politics 360, Steyer was asked by host Ashley Zavala to assign Newsom a grade for his performance in office.
I dont know, Steyer replied, laughing, when first pressed to evaluate the governors tenure. When Zavala clarified, A through F, Steyer repeated, I dont know. I think that people have come to really appreciate how Gavin has stood up for the state of California, before conceding, I havent followed it closely enough to give him a grade.
For a candidate seeking to lead a state of nearly 40 million people, admitting he has not followed it closely is a remarkable confession, especially given Newsoms long public record. The governor has not exactly been a political unknown, having served eight years as lieutenant governor and seven years as mayor of San Francisco before assuming the governorship.
Local Republicans wasted no time highlighting the absurdity of Steyers response, particularly in a state grappling with spiraling costs, rampant homelessness, and a deteriorating quality of life under Democratic rule. The Orange County Republicans called it an absolutely insane answer for a guy who wants to be the next Governor, a reaction that reflects the broader conservative frustration with Californias political class.
Yet Steyer is not alone in his reluctance to criticize Newsom, suggesting a deeper political calculation at work among ambitious Democrats. Eric Swalwell, widely viewed as the frontrunner and already infamous for his entanglement with alleged Chinese spy Fang Fang, was similarly evasive when asked by a local CBS affiliate what Newsom had gotten wrong as governor.
Swalwells hesitancy to identify any missteps by Newsom is striking, given his own vulnerability on national security and judgment. One can almost imagine him silently pleading, as Western Journal quipped, Can we please get back to talking about Fang Fang? rather than risk offending the sitting governor and potential future power broker.
The deference on display raises an obvious question: What exactly does Gavin Newsom have on these men that makes them so unwilling to offer even mild criticism? The most unsettling possibility is that he has nothing on them at all that they are simply unwilling to challenge the party line, even as Californias problems deepen.
Both Steyer and Swalwell are acutely aware that Newsoms 2028 presidential ambitions are already in motion, with his national media appearances and red-state debates serving as a soft launch. They also know, or should know, that his record is one of failure: a once-fiscally robust state now staring at massive deficits, while crime, housing costs, homelessness, and crumbling infrastructure worsen under an ever-expanding progressive agenda.
In that context, the old adage if you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything at all is not a mark of civility but a dereliction of duty. For candidates seeking to govern California, claiming not to have paid close attention to the last eight years is less an admission of humility than a confession of unseriousness, and voters who have lived through Newsoms policies may not be so forgiving.
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