“Dee Dee Myers, the first female White House press secretary in history and recently a top executive for Warner Bros., will become the chief economic and business adviser for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) as he grapples with a pandemic-stricken economy,” Politico reports.
Newsom Opens His Donor Network to Kamala Harris
“Ever since California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) endorsed Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), he’s been actively reaching out to his influential donor network in an effort to give her 2020 campaign war chest a boost,” CNBC reports.
“Newsom has been ramping up his efforts to court wealthy donors, who are mainly from his and Harris’ home state of California, since at least the start of the second quarter… Newsom was prolific fundraiser when he ran for governor in 2018 and finished the election cycle raising $50 million.”
Newsom Says GOP Will Soon Be a Third Party
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told Axios that it’s highly likely Republicans will wind up as a third party nationally in 10 to 15 years because of their “xenophobia” and “hyper-masculinity.”
Said Newsom: “They are finished.”
Newsom to Halt Death Penalty In California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) “is putting a moratorium on the death penalty in California, sparing the lives of more than 700 death-row inmates,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
“Newsom plans to sign an executive order Wednesday morning granting reprieves to all 737 Californians awaiting executions – a quarter of the country’s death row inmates.”
Newsom Calls for Resignation of Democratic Party Chief
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom (D) is calling for the resignation of California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman over charges of sexual misconduct, the Sacramento Bee reports.
“Bauman took a leave of absence from his position overseeing the Democratic Party on Monday, after one of his deputies initiated the process to remove him.”
Newsom Talks About Ex-Wife’s Relationship with Trump Jr.
California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom (D) publicly addressed the relationship between ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle and Donald Trump Jr. for the first time since the couple’s relationship went public, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Said Newsom: “I think, in those terms, I’m still trying to come to grips with all of it. No, it’s fine. I wish her well, and them well. And we see the world, clearly, with a different set of eyes politically.”
To the reporter who asked the question, he added: “You had the courage to be the first one to ever ask me this. I admire just the courage of that.”
Newsom Builds War Chest for 2018
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) “reports that he has already banked nearly $5.5 million for a possible run for governor that’s still more than three years away,” the AP reports.
Newsom Launches 2018 Campaign for California Governor
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced that he has opened a fundraising account to run for governor in 2018, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Newsom has long wanted to be governor, and the move – more than three years before the election – is an early shot across the bow at other potential Democratic candidates. By forming a committee, Newsom can raise up to $28,200 per supporter for both the primary and general elections, meaning he can collect $56,400 per donor.”
Newsom’s Power Play
Gavin Newsom’s decision not to run for U.S. Senate in California “capped a furious 72 hours of discussions among the would-be candidates and their advisers over whether to jump at the state’s first open Senate seat in two decades, or hold out for a shot at leading a state that is the world’s eighth-largest economy,” Politico reports.
In announcing his plans, Newsom got out ahead of Kamala Harris “who has told friends that she is also interested in the job of governor. Instead, on Tuesday, she will launch a campaign for Boxer’s seat, knowing that if she hesitated, it would appear that she was reluctant to choose the Senate over the governorship. In doing so, she will circumvent a race against Newsom; it has long been assumed that they would avoid a titanic clash that would leave one of them badly wounded, their hopes for higher office potentially derailed.”
Newsom Will Not Run for Senate in California
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said on Facebook that he will not seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Said Newsom: “It’s always better to be candid than coy. While I am humbled by the widespread encouragement of so many and hold in the highest esteem those who serve us in federal office, I know that my head and my heart, my young family’s future, and our unfinished work all remain firmly in the State of California – not Washington D.C. Therefore I will not seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2016.”
Waiting On Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris
The exact timing of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) retirement announcement caught California Democrats off-guard — and launched a fluid, high-stakes decision making process by Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), BuzzFeed reports.
“The situation is more fluid than it is opaque. Most expect one to run for Senate in 2016, and the other for governor in 2018, succeeding Jerry Brown. In interviews this weekend, people close to Newsom and Harris described a fast-changing, somewhat uncomfortable three-day period of deliberation in which each has sought advice and consulted family, while navigating the concentric circles of their shared political universe, of which there are plenty.”
“Still, there is no ‘deal’ between Newsom and Harris. No ‘smoke-filled room,’ no secret pact that would install one as senator and the other as governor. The two Democrats, who share a long and complicated history, have not even spoken directly since before Boxer announced her retirement, according to a person familiar with their correspondence.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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