Is California Gov. Gavin Newsom a national Democratic star? Why his State of the State speech could help

Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a State of the State address Tuesday that could easily be viewed across the country—and for that matter, delivered to the party’s national convention in August.

It was the sort of speech a president or presidential candidate might give. In fact, Joe Biden pretty much did just that while running in 2020 and addressing Congress in March.

Newsom, whose term as governor ends in 2027, has said repeatedly he’s not running for president in 2024. His office has not returned a request for comment.

For months Newsom has been taking the sorts of steps prospective presidential candidates do, traveling the country raising money, vigorously defending the Biden administration and aggressively spreading its message.

Tuesday he delivered his State of the State address in an unusual fashion, as a video message that could be viewed just as easily in New Hampshire or Iowa as it was in Sacramento. Instead of speaking in person to the state legislature, he was on camera, flanked by three flags -- two American and on California.

It was an address whose first parts centered on broad themes.

“He’s very aware of his national audience when he does anything. The fact he did macro themes is not surprising,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducts the NPR/PBS Marist News National poll..

Newsom stressed how California’s successes and qualities could be the nation’s.

“Our state and this legislature are called upon to show America that an agenda of freedom over fear is not only achievable, it’s inevitable,” Newsom said..

Newsom gets national attention

Analysts said speeches like Tuesday’s could keep Newsom in the national conversations about presidential politics, dialogue that’s dominating news talk shows this week.

“There will potentially be a couple of news hooks Newsom would not mind being mentioned in,” said John Fortier, senior fellow at Washington’s American Enterprise Institute.

Suppose, for instance, Biden does not do well in Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump.

Newsom won’t criticize Biden, but others may talk about the governor as an alternative. “Being somebody on that list and talking about the party as a whole might just remind people he’s part of the story,” said Fortier.

While Newsom’s address included the traditional list of boasts, wishes and promises, it also had the heft of the sort of speech given at a national level.

“We are presented with a choice between a society that embraces our values and a world darkened by division and discrimination.,” Newsom said.

That’s a similar message to the one from Biden in his State of the Union address in March: “What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time.”

And here’s Newsom Tuesday on his opponents: “They want to impeach the very things that have made us successful, as a tactic to turn America toward a darker future. They do so in the name of ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom.’”

Then here’s Biden accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020: “America is at an inflection point. A time of real peril, but of extraordinary possibilities.We can choose the path of becoming angrier, less hopeful, and more divided,” he said.

Newsom and the administration also had identical views on abortion.

“Today, our daughters know fewer rights than their grandmothers. This is a health care crisis,” Vice President Kamala Harris told a Maryland audience Monday.

Newsom emphasized the point Tuesday.

“For our detractors, the distorted prism of political pandering means cutting health care benefits and telling a woman she’s not in charge of her own body,” the governor said. “When it comes to reproductive rights, their lies are designed to control.”

Newsom in the summer spotlight

Newsom could have a lively summer in the national spotlight. Newsom is likely to be a surrogate touting Biden’s performance in the Thursday debate.

On July 15, Republicans gather for their national convention. Democrats traditionally offer their own speakers off site to counter the GOP claims.

Then comes the Democratic convention starting August 19. While no formal schedule has been announced, a strong convention speech has long been a ticket to stardom. Most famously, Barack Obama, then a little-known Illinois U.S. Senate candidate, vaulted to national stardom when he delivered the convention’s prime time keynote address.

Newsom has created the sort of political infrastructure that those thinking of a presidential run normally use. He’s set up fundraising committees, including one that can raise and spend unlimited amounts.

The money can be used to build loyalty in the party by promoting turnout and running ads with the Democratic message. Newsom has traveled around the country to campaign and meet personally with Democrats.

Any presidential bid in 2028 faces immediate hurdles. Most obvious is that if Biden wins a second term, Harris would be the favorite to succeed him.

Harris’ political resume is similar to that of Newsom–three statewide victories in California, roughly the same age (Harris 59, Newsom is 56), both from the San Francisco Bay area. Harris, though, could be the first Asian American and Black woman to win the White House giving her a constituency that Newsom could find harder to tap.