Gavin Newsom is no moderate. California's progressive failures are on him.

USA Today

19-05-2025

Gavin Newsom is no moderate. California's progressive failures are on him. | Opinion Gov. Gavin Newsom can't escape his record or the record of other California Democrats who've tarnished the Golden State's reputation, squandered its resources and sunk its quality of life.
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Newsom seeks Medi-Cal freeze for undocumented immigrants in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a budget proposal that would scale back Medi-Cal coverage for low-income undocumented immigrants. Medi-Cal is the state's free healthcare program for low-income residents.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is angling to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028 by trying to appeal to voters outside his progressive base. But he's not fooling anyone.
Newsom, for example, has proposed limiting health care coverage for migrants who entered the country illegally. He's told local leaders in California to clear homeless encampments, which are a bane for urban dwellers from San Francisco to San Diego. And he's even engaged on his podcast in thoughtful, cordial conversations with conservatives like Charlie Kirk, cofounder of Turning Point USA.
But Newsom can't escape his record – or the record of other California Democrats who've tarnished the Golden State's reputation, squandered its resources and sunk its quality of life.
California is the land of bad ideas
California is the place where bad ideas go to find acceptance. Take, for instance, the California State Assembly's recent heated debate on the sex trafficking of children.
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Based on her experience as a prosecutor, Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento, coauthored a bill that would have made it a felony to solicit 16- and 17-year-old minors for sex. It's the kind of commonsense legislation that should have attracted bipartisan support.
But Krell's fellow Democrats gutted the legislation, despite the fact that Newsom supported it. The bill, which Krell wrote with a Republican legislator, was an attempt to fix loopholes in Senate Bill 1414. The Assembly passed that bill last year, making it a felony to pay for sex with minors – with the exception of 16- and 17-year-olds.
In debating the bill, Assembly members also argued vehemently about how to clean up a mess of their own making − the real-world fallout that occurred after they enacted a law that decriminalized loitering while selling sex on the streets. A local news report noted that the law has led to "vast swathes of urban areas in California" becoming "open prostitution zones."
It's ordinary citizens who often have to suffer the unintended consequences of so many progressive ideas.
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After a public outcry and a nudge from Newsom, Krell's bill, resurrected by a fellow Democrat, has now passed the Assembly and awaits action in the state Senate.
But it's frustrating and sad to see California progressives waste so much time and energy fighting legislation that would protect children − and yes, a 16-year-old is still a child, legally and developmentally − from the horrors of sex trafficking.
Homeless crisis another sign of failed progressive policy
When visiting Los Angeles, I am always saddened by the extraordinary number of people in the city − more than 45,000 − who are struggling with homelessness. I also think that a state that boasts the largest GDP in the country − and the fourth-largest economy in the world − surely has the financial resources necessary to get Californians in need back on their feet.
Yet, progressives in California, Newsom included, have tried for decades to reduce homelessness in the state. They have failed − badly and repeatedly.
Even Newsom admits that failure. In a May 12 press conference commenting on the homeless crisis, the governor suddenly sounded tough. "I'm not interested anymore, period, full stop, in funding failure," he said.
Newsom might not be interested in funding failure any longer, but that's precisely what he's done for years. Since Newsom took office in 2019, the state has spent more than $20 billion on efforts to reduce homelessness. The result? The number of people without a home to call their own has gone up.
If he does run for president, Newsom will have a hard time explaining away that debacle to voters in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas who will rightly wonder if he'll waste their tax dollars on expensive failures.
Newsom may fool some moderate Democrats with his sudden shift to the middle, but the rest of us won't forget the long history of progressive failures that have hurt Californians under his watch.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.