PHILADELPHIA – California Governor Gavin Newsom is back in the presidential race.
The well-known Democrat and two-term governor was one of President Biden’s key surrogates in his re-election campaign.
But apart from an appearance – albeit a non-speaking role – at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago last month, Newsom has largely been away from the campaign trail since his Californian vice presidential running mate Kamala Harris replaced Biden on the party’s 2024 ticket seven and a half weeks ago.
Until now.
Newsom will be one of four Democratic governors representing the vice president in the debate’s spin room, along with Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom poses for a selfie with supporters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Before stopping in Philadelphia, Newsom was in New York on Sunday to serve as keynote speaker at a fundraiser for Harris and also made media appearances on behalf of the vice president and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“What Kamala Harris has done in the past eight weeks is unprecedented in U.S. history. She has closed the gap. We are not just in the margin of error. We have expanded the map of the United States,” Newsom said early Tuesday in an interview on “CBS Mornings.”
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Newsom was a prominent surrogate for Biden, defending him after the president’s disastrous performance in the debate in late June against former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.
Governor Gavin Newsom campaigns for President Biden at a highway rest area in Hooksett, New Hampshire on July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Biden’s halting speaking style immediately fueled doubts about his physical and mental ability to serve another four years in the White House and sparked growing calls within his own party for the 81-year-old president to end his run for a second term. Facing mounting pressure from his Democrats, Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed his vice president in a forceful announcement on July 21.
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When asked whether he would support Harris in the election campaign as much as he did Biden, Newsom referred to his longstanding friendship and collaboration with the vice president.
“We knew each other a decade before we both went into politics. He’s one of my oldest friends. So it’s a no-brainer,” Newsom told Fox News Digital on the first night of the DNC at the United Center Arena in Chicago. “I’ll be there if I have to. But of course I’m fully in.”
However, Newsom, who has long had national ambitions of his own, added at the time that he might not be asked by Harris’ campaign team to campaign on behalf of the vice president.
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“We’ll see. Because everyone is out there. Everyone is doing everything,” the governor said.
Three weeks later, Newsom is back on the campaign trail.
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