Gavin Newsom

It’s far too early to declare a front-runner in the race for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, but Gavin Newsom is among the likeliest.

The two-term California governor solidified his reputation as the spear of the resistance against President Donald Trump’s power grab when the White House threatened to withhold disaster aid unless the state changed its forest and water management policies. 

Since then, Newsom has fought with the president over his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, which a judge determined broke federal law. The governor also launched a campaign to support the state’s controversial redistricting effort to counteract Texas’ redistricting measures and snag Democrats a few more seats in Congress. 

And he sought to engage voters in less traditional ways. Perhaps you’ve even listened to his podcast or seen his MAGA-style merch.

But Newsom hasn’t just focused on combating Trump. 

Back home, he signed two bills in July to overhaul California’s environmental protection law — which every governor going back to Ronald Reagan had tried to do. The environmental law had been used to sideline development projects by delaying them or wrapping them in litigation. The bills, part of a state legislative budget deal, will create exemptions for infill housing projects that abide by local zoning rules, and are designed to speed up construction and lower costs. Most importantly, they could streamline environmental reviews and remove other legal requirements, closing loopholes that had allowed naysayers to halt projects. 

This summer, Newsom also signed legislation doubling the amount of tax credits the state can offer to film producers who shoot in California. The measure, which raises the cap from $330 million to $750 million, has already brought more production back to Los Angeles studios at a time when the industry has been slow to recover from the writer’s strike.