Gavin Newsom to campaign for Joe Biden in New Hampshire, a key presidential primary state

Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading for New Hampshire Monday, the state that for decades has been one of the first big tests for presidential candidates.

Newsom plans to campaign for President Joe Biden. and state and local Democrats.

“We look forward to welcoming Governor Newsom to New Hampshire to campaign on behalf of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and once again defeat Donald Trump,” said New Hampshire Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley.

More than 200 people have RSVP’d for the event.

The California governor‘s trip comes as President Joe Biden is under fire for his lackluster debate performance June 27. It was planned before last week’s presidential debate.

Newsom has been a vocal Biden supporter. Biden trailed former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire, 44% to 42%, in the Saint Anselm College Survey June 28-29, after last week’s debate. Biden topped Trump by 7 percentage points in 2020.

Newsom has been repeatedly mentioned as a candidate to replace Biden should the president step down. He’s created the sort of fundraising infrastructure that prospective presidential candidates have used, and traveled the country trying to promote himself as a national party spokesman.

The governor has repeatedly said he’s not running for president this year, and he was a top spokesman at the Atlanta debate site and a vigorous defender of Biden.

Democratic governors around the country have publicly rallied around the embattled president, and plan to meet with Biden Wednesday.

The governors participated in a conference call Monday organized by Minnesota Gov. Tom Walz, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

The call involved only governors, no staff or campaign officials. The Biden campaign team was made aware of the call in advance.

Newsom was not on the Monday call. It’s not clear whether he’ll attend the Wednesday meeting.

A person familiar with the call, who asked not to be identified because the governors tried to keep the call private, said “Democratic governors are some of the president and vice president’s most proactive and vocal supporters because they’ve seen how the Biden-Harris administration’s accomplishments are directly benefiting their residents.”

The source added “The Biden-Harris team is in constant communication with the governors and their teams, including about yesterday’s meeting.”