NEW YORK (AP) ā Gavin ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom hosts President Donald Trump's allies on . He's pushing city officials to crack down on . And this week, he proposed for immigrants in the country illegally.
Make no mistake: California's Democratic governor is appealing to the political center and trying to shed his national reputation as a San Francisco liberal as he contemplates his next career move.
With the earliest phase of the 2028 already underway, the term-limited ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom has become increasingly willing to break from some of the policies that have defined his brand and his deeply Democratic state. His moves could attract Democratic voters fearful that their next nominee might appear too liberal, but also threaten to alienate key parts of the party's diverse coalition.
On Wednesday, ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom was asked if he was moving to the center in anticipation of a presidential run.
āIāve been, always, a hardheaded pragmatist,ā the 57-year-old told reporters, pointing to his time as San Francisco mayor, when he expanded the cityās police department and backed an ordinance cracking down on panhandling.
He explained that his evolving policy platform was driven by a need to be fiscally responsible.
Already, some Democrats who will be influential in the next primary are skeptical.
āHeās trying to moderate some. Good for him for trying,ā said Boyd Brown, a veteran Democratic operative in South Carolina. āBut I think the dieās been cast on Gavin ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļomās political positions.ā
Norman Solomon, national director for the progressive group RootsAction, accused ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom of being āwilling to throw basic decency under the 2028 campaign bus.ā
ā¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom is well on his way to self-satire as a former liberal whoās so obsessed with becoming president that he develops a reflex of punching down ā at immigrants, the homeless, farmworkers, people living paycheck to paycheck,ā Solomon said.
A busy week on policy
Pointing to the state's $12 billion deficit, ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom has come out with a plan to stop immigrants living in the country illegally from joining California's taxpayer-funded health care program for the poor. Those already receiving benefits and children who qualify would not be affected.
Last year, California was one of the first states to all poor adults regardless of their immigration status. It was an ambitious plan promoted by ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom to help the nationās most populous state inch closer to universal health care. He reiterated support for the program as recently as March.
But the cost ultimately ran $2.7 billion more than ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom anticipated.
Despite the proposed change, the governor made clear he still broadly supports providing health care to immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
āNo state has done more than the state of California, no state will continue to do more than the state of California by a long shot. And thatās a point of pride,ā he said.
This week, ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom offered California cities a blueprint to clear homeless encampments. It was an escalation in his effort to force local officials to address the makeshift tents that line underpasses, parks and streets across the state.
āNo more excuses,ā he said. āIt is time to take back the streets.ā
¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom earlier this year stunned some members of his own party by agreeing with podcast guests on issues such as . He said dismantling police departments was ālunacyā and kept silent when longtime Trump ally Steve falsely said Trump won the 2020 presidential election against Democrat Joe Biden.
About 7 in 10 Democrats oppose allowing transgender athletes to participate in womenās sports, according to a January New York Times/Ipsos poll, and Democratic leaders of cities have long faced concerns about homelessness and illegal immigration, issues that Trump highlighted frequently during his 2024 campaign.
Democrats speak out
Brown, the South Carolina operative, noted that the partyās last presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, was defeated in part because Trumpās campaign spent millions she embraced as a California senator and in a previous run before she replaced Biden atop the 2024 ticket.
āWe already tried the California thing,ā Brown said.
In New Hampshire, former Democratic House Speaker Steve Shurtleff agreed that it may be too late for ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom to change his brand.
āItās almost oversteering. Heās trying too hard to come toward the middle," Shurtleff said. āBefore you can be true to the electorate, youāve got to be true to yourself.ā
Matt Bennett of the centrist Democratic group Third Way praised ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom.
Bennett noted that Democratic primary voters may lean left, but they have a long track record of picking moderate presidential nominees based on the notion that that candidate is more electable in a general election.
āWe will date a liberal, but we marry the moderate every time,ā Bennett said, arguing that every Democratic nominee going back to Bill Clinton in 1992 was viewed as a moderate. āI think what Gavin ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom is doing is moving into the center, and we think thatās smart.ā
Third Way is chaired by Rachel Pritzker, a relative of another 2028 contender, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Inside ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom's thinking
¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom's allies acknowledge that he faces significant challenges should he run in 2028.
He has just a year and a half to make progress on California's most pressing issues ā homelessness, crime, climate change and immigration, among them. Facing a major budget deficit, he may have limited options.
Some supporters believe that building out his national brand is critical, so they have launched a sustained effort to do just that.
As recently as this past weekend, ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom's political action committee ran ads on Fox ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļ attacking Trump's trade policies. ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom put up billboards across seven states last fall condemning the GOP's anti-abortion policies. Over the spring, he established a website to combat misinformation from Trump and his allies.
¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom also has his podcast, which has recently featured major figures from Trump's āMake America Great Againā movement, including Bannon and Charlie Kirk.
Matt Wilhelm, who chairs the New Hampshire House Democratic caucus, took the middle ground on ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom, saying he appreciated the governor ācommunicating early and often across a variety of platforms.ā
āI hope Gov. ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom makes his way back to New Hampshire in the coming months ā not just to speak, but also to listen,ā he said. "Granite Staters still have a lot to learn about Gov. ¾¢±¬“ó¹Ļom and vice versa."
Steve Peoples, The Associated Press
