By Norman Solomon*
SAN FRANCISCO | 7 February 2026 (IDN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom has made headlines this winter by vowing to defeat a proposal for a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires in the state. Many national polls now rank him as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, but aligning with the ultra-wealthy is hardly auspicious for winning over the party’s base.
Last year, Reuters/Ipsos reported that 86 percent of Democrats said “changing the federal tax code so wealthy Americans and large corporations pay more in taxes should be a priority.”
Newsom has drawn widespread praise for waging a rhetorical war against Donald Trump. But few outside California know much about Newsom’s actual governing record. Many Democratic voters may recoil upon learning that his opposition to a billionaire tax fits into a broader pattern of increasingly corporate-friendly politics.
Corporate Access, Social Cuts
A year ago, Newsom sent roughly 100 leaders of California-based corporations prepaid cell phones “programmed with Newsom’s digits and accompanied by notes from the governor himself,” Politico reported. One note to a major tech CEO read: “If you ever need anything, I’m a phone call away.”
At the same time, Newsom has slashed budgets for healthcare, housing, and food assistance in a state where roughly seven million people live below the official poverty line, and child poverty rates are the highest in the nation.
His latest budget continues this trajectory. “The governor’s 2026–27 spending plan balances the budget by dodging the harsh realities of the Republican megabill, H.R. 1, and maintains state cuts to vital public supports, like Medi-Cal,” the California Budget & Policy Center noted. The proposal, the center warned, “will leave many Californians without food assistance and healthcare coverage.”
The Image Versus the Record
National media attention has focused heavily on Newsom’s image rather than his policies. Veteran columnist Dan Walters observed that coverage has “almost completely ignored what he has and has not done as a governor,” favoring “the sizzle rather than the steak.”
Walters noted that Newsom has avoided confrontations with wealthy interests, discouraged tax increases, and drifted away from environmental leadership. Once sharply critical of the oil industry, Newsom has instead encouraged increased production and refinery operations.
Environmental and Labor Backsliding
Climate activists were outraged last fall when Newsom signed legislation that would open thousands of new oil wells. The Oil and Gas Action Network said he “can’t claim climate leadership while giving Big Oil what it wants.” Bill McKibben’s organization, Third Act, condemned what it called Newsom’s “Big Oil backslide.”
Efforts to curb PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” stalled when Newsom vetoed legislation that would have banned them from cookware and consumer products. “The governor seems determined to move away from his pro-environment past,” said Clean Water Action.
On workers’ rights, the record is similar. Newsom vetoed unemployment benefits for striking workers in 2023 and rejected heat-safety protections for farmworkers in 2024—even as temperatures in California’s fields exceeded 110 degrees.
Out of Step With the Democratic Base
Polling highlights a widening ideological gap. Gallup reports that 59 percent of Democrats now identify as liberal or very liberal—a figure that has doubled over two decades.
Yet Newsom continues to champion a “big tent” strategy, praising centrism and bipartisanship in the mold of former president Bill Clinton, whose policies—NAFTA, welfare reform, mass incarceration—devastated working-class communities.
Newsom’s outreach has extended even to far-right figures on his podcast, including Charlie Kirk, Steve Bannon, and Ben Shapiro, reflecting a form of media triangulation that validates reactionary voices while marginalizing progressivism.
Nowhere is Newsom more misaligned with Democratic voters than on Israel. A Quinnipiac University Poll found that 77 percent of Democrats believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and three-quarters oppose further military aid. Newsom rejects both positions while declining to challenge AIPAC.
Congressman Ro Khanna summed it up bluntly: Newsom “doesn’t want to offend the donor class,” a stance that explains his positions on Israel and taxation alike.
For anyone seeking a genuinely progressive Democratic Party, Gavin Newsom is bad news.
*Norman Solomon is national director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His books include War Made Invisible and The Blue Road to Trump Hell. [IDN-InDepthews]