Governor Gavin Newsom giving second inaugural address on January 6, 2023 (Photo: gov.ca.gov)
Newsom Rises In 2028 Presidential Polling Amongst Dems Following Opposition to Trump Over L.A. Protests
Is Newsom’s polling bump a flash in the pan?
By Evan Symon, June 18, 2025 10:38 pm
Governor Gavin Newsom saw a rebound in 2028 presidential polling this week, with new polls showing him back in second place thanks to Democratic voters approving of his heavy opposition to President Donald Trump’s actions in response to the L.A. protests.
However, while Newsom did see a surge of support in the past few weeks, it is unknown if it will have long-term promise. Aggregate polling compared from a few weeks ago to this week shows a more subtle story. While Newsom did move up to fourth place in combined poll percentages this week over Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), he is still an overall distant fourth place. Harris still has a lead with 27.4% of Democrats backing her, followed by Buttigieg with 15.3% and AOC’s 11.7%. Newsom’s prior lower showing are dragging him down here, as he is in 4th place with 8.2%.
According to the Morning Consult poll conducted over the past weekend, Newsom now has 11% of the vote – his highest total in any presidential poll since January of 2024. Only former Vice President Kamala Harris was higher, with a commanding 34% of the vote. Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) were tied for third behind Newsom with 7%. 16% of all Democrats are also currently undecided in the polls.
“According to our June 13-15 survey of registered voters, 11% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents nationwide would back Newsom if the 2028 presidential primary were held in their state today, up from 5% in March. Harris, meanwhile, saw a slight decline in backing (from 36% to 34%), alongside a similar dip for former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (from 10% to 7%), who moved into a third-place tie with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), whose own support ticked up from 5% to 7%.
“Roughly half of Democrats (52%) view him favorably while 14% view him unfavorably, nearly identical to our findings shortly after the November elections. Harris, on the other hand, has retained widespread popularity among Democrats and carries nearly universal name recognition among the electorate. While Newsom’s polling bump may prove to be a flash in the pan, it does illustrate the power of earned media and the appetite for a fighter among Democratic voters. Newsom is one of several Democratic governors believed to be looking at a bid in 2028, but he’s the only one gaining traction at this early stage. (All of the other governors named as potential Democratic nominees in 2028 either saw their support stay the same or decline.)
“What’s more, California’s position as the Trump administration’s leading legal opponent should keep Newsom in the headlines into the midterm elections, allowing him a clear perch to continue to grow his national profile. Nonetheless, our survey also reinforces that it’s his in-state rival, Harris, who remains the front-runner should she choose to run. After all, her 34% of support puts her in a stronger position than Joe Biden was at a similarly early point in the 2020 cycle.”
The sudden upswing marks a surprising return for Governor Newsom who, before the riots, hit an all-time low in polling. Originally the favorite candidate for the 2028 Presidential Election, Newson dramatically fell in polls throughout 2025. Issues over Newsom’s response to the January wildfires in L.A., making Democrats angry over the reversal of positions like transgender athletes, federal reversals of pet state projects, and many more cratered support since the beginning of the year. In January he was second only to Harris. But last month he sat a distant fifth with only 5% support.
Newsom needed a jolt of support for quite some time. So when Los Angeles experienced anti-ICE protests and riots earlier this month, Newsom repeatedly publicly bashed the Trump administration’s response. He also took them on in court, suing the President over activating California National Guard troops to help quell the riots without his permission. While the riots are virtually over, they gave him the boost in support he needed. In addition, the court cases ensure that his name stays in the news opposing Trump. These two factors caused the massive six point increase of support and brought his name back up to national recognition.
“If Gavin Newsom wanted to take on Donald Trump and loves the attention, he has 100 percent gotten it,” noted CNN analyst Harry Enten of the new poll. “Take a look here. Google searches of Gavin Newsom with Donald Trump, get this, up 9,700 percent. More folks are googling Gavin Newsom’s name with Donald Trump than ever before.”
More polls are to come out in the following weeks, with them likely to show if Newsom’s success in getting attention earlier this month was only short-term, or if it brought forth longer effects on voters.
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What’s striking to me about this list of Dem Prez hopefuls is that whether Newsom’s little bump puts him at the bottom or top or in the middle of them all, look who is on that roster! The Dems should be having major anxiety attacks about being stuck with Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, Tim Walz, and I guess Gavin, who would definitely think he should be the STAR of the place but he’s not. But that’s THEIR problem, isn’t it. Hilarious.
The va-jay-jays will, in significant numbers, always vote for the hair, smile and suit. Scant few, proportionally, are capable of looking deeper than that…and that’s what Gavie-poo is counting on.
When pigs fly…
Here are two of the Dems’ “winners”:
“Dems double down on sex changes for minor after explosive SCOTUS ruling: ‘Heartless'”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/06/19/democrats-double-down-on-sex-changes-for-minors-after-explosive-scotus-ruling-heartless/
God help us if this bastard gets into national office and does to the country what he’s done to California. I shudder to think how bad it can get. I don’t think this country can survive a Newscum administration (and wouldn’t have survived a Hairy Kamel administration either if she had won).
Nothing will scream ‘gender affirming’ louder next year than a (d) candidate’s pre-election junk mail.