Newsom says he will consider running for president

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(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will consider a run for the White House.

But any decision will wait until after the 2026 midterm election, Newsom told CBS News in a report that aired Sunday.

“I have no idea,” Newsom said during an interview on “CBS Sunday Morning,” but added he would be lying if he said it wasn’t on his mind. He said the question about his possible candidacy for president was an “extraordinary” turn, considering the challenges he’s faced such as dyslexia and a below-average score on his SAT, formerly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

“The idea that a guy who got 960 on his SAT, that still struggles to read scripts, that was always in the back of the classroom, the idea that you would even throw that out is, in and of itself, extraordinary,” Newsom told CBS News correspondent Robert Costa.

Newsom, who has long been widely expected to run for president, added he looks forward to seeing who’s running in the 2028 election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Los Angeles resident who decided against running for California governor to succeed Newsom, hasn't said whether she would seek the Democratic nomination to run against the Republican nominee.

The GOP candidate in the 2028 general election could be J.D. Vance if Republicans follow the tradition of the vice president running after the president's final term. Harris, who joined the presidential race in July 2024 after President Joe Biden pulled out, lost to Trump.

Newsom, who backed Biden until he dropped out, conceded the reason for running must be compelling.

“I think the biggest challenge for anyone who runs for any office is people will see right through you if you don’t have that ‘why’, if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons,” he said.

Costa asked Newsom about his public appearances in July in South Carolina, which is seen as a key battleground state in the next presidential race. At one point, Newsom stopped by a coffee shop and helped serve espressos.

“I happen to, and thank God, I’m in the right business,” Newsom said. “I love people.”

Newsom stressed what he and other Democrats see as the importance of Proposition 50, the only statewide measure on the Nov. 4 California ballot. It would draw new boundaries for congressional districts to allow Democrats to pick up five more Democratic seats in the House, in response to Texas likely picking up five more Republican seats after its recent redistricting.

“It’s about our democracy. It's about the future of this republic,” said Newsom, a vocal opponent of Republican President Donald Trump. "I think it's about, you know, what the Founding Fathers lived and died for, this notion of the rule of law, and not the rule of Don.

“His presidency, de facto, ends next November if we’re successful, if we the people are successful in taking back the House," the Democratic governor said.

Democratic control of the House would block advancement of Trump-backed legislation and give the Democrats power to subpoena Trump administration officials for oversight hearings.

The congressional redistricting election has garnered national interest. Newsom talked about Proposition 50 and Trump in September on CBS' "Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced it would send personnel to Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno counties to monitor polling sites. The DOJ said the goal is "to ensure transparency, ballot security and compliance with federal law."

“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release.

But Newsom has called it an effort to intimidate Democrats.