California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination if President Joe Biden doesn’t run in 2024, as voters in his state say they are eager for alternatives.
Biden has enjoyed a string of recent legislative successes, but the 79-year-old president’s stubbornly low approval rating has prompted questions over his prospects in the 2024 race.
California voters oppose Biden seeking a second term 61% to 31%, according to a new survey of registered voters in the state by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, with Newsom riding high on their list of candidates who could speculatively lead a presidential ticket.
TOP OHIO DEMOCRAT BREAKS WITH BIDEN IN NEW CAMPAIGN AD
At the same time, Newsom has raised so much money that he is spending in other states ahead of his November bid for reelection, swiping at prominent Republicans and even some Democrats as many in his party call for more aggressive tactics.
“There is a gap in national [Democratic Party] leadership. He sees the opening and is trying to fill it,” a Sacramento political strategist said of Newsom’s efforts to set himself apart.
By the end of June, Newsom’s campaign coffers had swelled to nearly $24 million, far outpacing his rival Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle, whose campaign reported $300,000 in recent filings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The governor’s moves have fueled speculation that he holds national ambitions, something he has denied repeatedly.
But the poll shows a base of support for the governor in his home state if Biden doesn’t run.
Newsom and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) lead the potential contenders if Biden forgoes a reelection bid, with the governor and 2020 California primary winner each earning 13% of the vote among Democratic primary voters in the Aug. 9-15 survey. Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California senator, follows in third place with 10% of the vote.
Strategists in the state have predicted Newsom’s and Harris’s ambitions colliding, with an adviser to Newsom last year telling the Washington Examiner that as the governor gains momentum, “they could end up both wanting the same thing, which is the White House.”
With second-choice preferences counted, Newsom pulls firmly ahead.
Twenty-five percent of California Democratic primary voters chose Newsom as their first or second choice in 2024 if Biden doesn’t run, compared to 18% who chose Harris and Sanders.
The California governor is the first or second choice of 25% of Democratic primary voters, with Harris and Sanders tied behind him at 18%.
The survey of 9,254 California registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The results come as voters nationwide continue to express unhappiness with the country’s direction, with more than half of the 1,000 respondents in a new NBC News poll fearing that the nation’s best days may be in the past.
A record 74% of voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, compared to 21% who said it is headed in the right direction, according to the poll.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Nearly half of voters reported negative feelings toward Biden, 48%, who earned 42% approval in the poll.
Against this backdrop, some Democrats have distanced themselves publicly from Biden and his administration. In an advertisement last week, one Ohio Democrat lashed out at the president’s trade policy and proclaimed herself “fighting back” against him, despite weeks earlier embracing Biden during a visit to the state.
