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PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 01:26 PM 13 hrs ago

Newsom overtakes Kamala in poll of Democratic candidates for President!

According to the poll, California Governor Gavin Newsom leads potential Democratic candidates with 24 percent versus former Vice President Kamala Harris' 18 percent and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 9 percent. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg landed 8 percent of the potential vote in the poll, when those surveyed were asked whom they would vote for if the Democratic primary took place today.

https://www.newsweek.com/new-poll-shows-top-2028-democratic-republican-candidates-for-president-11569922

This is the second straight poll that has Newsom leading the pack for the 2028 Democratic nomination for President. Earlier this month, a poll conducted by Yahoo also had Newsom leading. Now though his margin has increased.

54 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Newsom overtakes Kamala in poll of Democratic candidates for President! (Original Post) PeaceWave 13 hrs ago OP
We can't have a woman for President. Didn't you know that? CTyankee 13 hrs ago #1
Message auto-removed Name removed 13 hrs ago #2
... leftstreet 13 hrs ago #4
Bye Bye KS Toronado 12 hrs ago #9
Polls don't mean a whole lot this eary in the game calguy 13 hrs ago #3
As Biden would say, leading a former Democratic nominee for President is a "big fucking deal." PeaceWave 12 hrs ago #5
My objection to Kamala is that her last campaign wasn't very good Bobstandard 12 hrs ago #12
I feel the same way calguy 12 hrs ago #14
Oh, I dunno about that! She was thrown in when finally Biden realized he needed medical help. CTyankee 10 hrs ago #25
"Medical help" - What does that even mean? PeaceWave 10 hrs ago #26
That awful moment in the debate when he looked glazed and didn't speak. CTyankee 7 hrs ago #30
I never once read any suggestion that Biden had suffered a stroke. What you are saying is unsubstantiated. PeaceWave 7 hrs ago #31
So what was your interpretation of what happened to Biden during the debate? CTyankee 6 hrs ago #32
Who cares? Biden is out of politics and he is now battling cancer. Leave him in peace. PeaceWave 6 hrs ago #33
I hope for the best for this wonderful man. CTyankee 5 hrs ago #39
He froze, choked like an athlete. carpetbagger 2 hrs ago #47
Of course she was calguy 10 hrs ago #27
By that logic, Biden would have been disqualified EdmondDantes_ 5 hrs ago #37
Yes they can. calguy 4 hrs ago #40
BS. Tell that to President Guliani! Renew Deal 11 hrs ago #19
The surging support for Newsom is in response to him reshaping the electoral map in our favor... PeaceWave 11 hrs ago #22
Wait until Kelly bluestarone 12 hrs ago #6
I like Sen. Kelly 👍 poli-junkie 12 hrs ago #7
I think Kelly would give us the best chance to win. padfun 12 hrs ago #8
Newsom can't pick Kelly as his VP. Arizona is too close to California. PeaceWave 12 hrs ago #15
I don't think region really matters anymore. Happy Hoosier 11 hrs ago #20
Oh, I think it continues to matter a great deal. PeaceWave 11 hrs ago #23
Kelly doesn't like negative campaigning JI7 10 hrs ago #28
He's been more visible than other potential candidates. Polls don't mean much so far out though. themaguffin 12 hrs ago #10
Soooo....this is what my podcaster hinted at last night. BigmanPigman 12 hrs ago #11
I'm not into podcasts...let alone having my own personal podcaster. PeaceWave 8 hrs ago #29
Neither Newsom nor Harris will be the 2028 nominee! Fiendish Thingy 12 hrs ago #13
Have you decided who'll you'll vote for in the Saskatchewan Democratic primary? BannonsLiver 11 hrs ago #24
Joe BIden Boo1 2 hrs ago #45
Carter, Clinton and Obama didn't even show up in the midterm polls before their elections Fiendish Thingy 2 hrs ago #49
And that was Boo1 2 hrs ago #51
Conor Lamb is my nominee. Frasier Balzov 11 hrs ago #16
I think there is something to what you say senseandsensibility 11 hrs ago #18
I think we are very early in the process pinkstarburst 11 hrs ago #17
Gavin has the chops flamingdem 11 hrs ago #21
And you think this is a good thing? milestogo 6 hrs ago #34
I doubt Kamala will run. Melon 6 hrs ago #35
Harris' numbers are mostly a function of name recognition at this point. tritsofme 6 hrs ago #36
Neither will win. DenaliDemocrat 5 hrs ago #38
You do realise that your user name anagrams out to Denial Democrat...right? PeaceWave 4 hrs ago #41
I live out west - have my whole life DenaliDemocrat 3 hrs ago #42
Why don't you elaborate on what "out west" means...because there are a whole lot of Republican states "out west." PeaceWave 2 hrs ago #43
Okay DenaliDemocrat 2 hrs ago #44
Alaska and Wyoming are ruby Republican states. Their disdain is to be expected. As for... PeaceWave 2 hrs ago #48
Imagine believing after the last 12 years of this megalomaniac 1980s era political geography is relevant. BannonsLiver 2 hrs ago #46
The two questions... carpetbagger 2 hrs ago #50
Here's why that's good: Sogo 1 hr ago #52
Sen.Chris Murphy of CT is also impressive yorkster 1 hr ago #53
Which Democrat has stood up to Trump the most effectively and the most frequently? The answer is obvious. Doodley 1 hr ago #54

Response to PeaceWave (Original post)

calguy

(6,118 posts)
3. Polls don't mean a whole lot this eary in the game
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 01:36 PM
13 hrs ago

As much as I love Kamala, I can not support her for the nomination again. As hard as it is for me to say it, the stakes are simply too high to risk another female candidate for the White House. I love what Newsom's been doing in that regard, but I also have misgivings about running a governor from California.
I’d much prefer to see a governor like Pritzker get in the race. It’s still early, so anything can happen in the next year.

PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
5. As Biden would say, leading a former Democratic nominee for President is a "big fucking deal."
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 01:46 PM
12 hrs ago

Bobstandard

(2,229 posts)
12. My objection to Kamala is that her last campaign wasn't very good
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:17 PM
12 hrs ago

Yes, she had little time to prepare or fine tune it. However, reining in Walz, was a big mistake. He was using words and imagery that people were relating to.I think she listened too much to the usual consultants on that one. As others here and, even she herself apparently have said, she also whiffed on Gaza. Finally, after her campaign loss she disappeared from the scene just when we could have used a little leadership and visible pushback from her. Leaders lead.

calguy

(6,118 posts)
14. I feel the same way
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:26 PM
12 hrs ago

I enthusiastically supported her when she stepped in after Biden withdrew, but I would never have supported her in a primary election, given her pitiful performance of dropping out four years prior before the first primary state casted a vote. Not that I don’t love and admire her, but some candidates just can’t garner national support, no matter how qualified they might be.

CTyankee

(68,015 posts)
25. Oh, I dunno about that! She was thrown in when finally Biden realized he needed medical help.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:48 PM
10 hrs ago

I know it's hindsight but he should have realized he couldn't go forward. That awful moment during the debate made my heart sink.

CTyankee

(68,015 posts)
30. That awful moment in the debate when he looked glazed and didn't speak.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 06:47 PM
7 hrs ago

My heart sank when I saw that. Was it a mini stroke or something that would have led up to a stroke? I still don't know what happened. Did you see the debate and when that moment happened? If you did, what did you think?

PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
31. I never once read any suggestion that Biden had suffered a stroke. What you are saying is unsubstantiated.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 07:34 PM
7 hrs ago

PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
33. Who cares? Biden is out of politics and he is now battling cancer. Leave him in peace.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 08:27 PM
6 hrs ago

carpetbagger

(5,454 posts)
47. He froze, choked like an athlete.
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:16 AM
2 hrs ago

He was never a natural debater, and he's a stutterer. Then add chronic hoarseness that set in over the year or so before the debate. Most importantly, he ran his presidency like an old-school president, on the telephone, in the office, not interested in continuous campaigning. So this was something he hadn't done in years. And even a reasonably sharp 80 year old will look, well, 80. Contrast that with Trump, who is loud and self-assured, and I think that's enough to set the ball on the tee.

calguy

(6,118 posts)
27. Of course she was
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 04:38 PM
10 hrs ago

and I supported her fully. It was her first primary run four years prior that disqualifiee her for any future run in my mind.
She couldn’t garner enough national support keep her campaign from fizzling out before the first stage even held its primary. This is not to say anything bad about Kamala Harris. I absolutely love the woman, but the cold hard facts are she just doesn't have national appeal on her own.

EdmondDantes_

(1,610 posts)
37. By that logic, Biden would have been disqualified
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 08:56 PM
5 hrs ago

His first two attempts didn't make it out of Iowa. His first run ended before the primaries and in 2008 he got 1% in Iowa before dropping out.

Conditions can change.

calguy

(6,118 posts)
40. Yes they can.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 10:33 PM
4 hrs ago

If Kamala enters the race and wins enough delegates for the nomination, I will be an enthusiastic supporter again.

PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
22. The surging support for Newsom is in response to him reshaping the electoral map in our favor...
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:19 PM
11 hrs ago

The man is DOING SOMETHING.

Happy Hoosier

(9,472 posts)
20. I don't think region really matters anymore.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:09 PM
11 hrs ago

No one is going to vote for teh Democrat just because someone from their region is the VEEP on a ticket.

themaguffin

(5,071 posts)
10. He's been more visible than other potential candidates. Polls don't mean much so far out though.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:07 PM
12 hrs ago

BigmanPigman

(54,926 posts)
11. Soooo....this is what my podcaster hinted at last night.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:08 PM
12 hrs ago

Jack Cocchiarrella was talking about tRump's idiotic rant about Newsom running for POTUS right now.

?si=gwUqj0DO6FakM-Rv

5:30 time stamp

Fiendish Thingy

(22,657 posts)
13. Neither Newsom nor Harris will be the 2028 nominee!
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:22 PM
12 hrs ago

These are beauty-pageant-name-recognition polls with little predictive value on who the ultimate nominee will be.

Go review polls from 1974, 1990 and 2006- there is no mention of Carter, Clinton or Obama in those polls. Now look at who the front runners were in those polls…

Fiendish Thingy

(22,657 posts)
49. Carter, Clinton and Obama didn't even show up in the midterm polls before their elections
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:22 AM
2 hrs ago

That’s my point - beauty-pageant-name-recognition polls two+ years out are meaningless and have minimal predictive value.

Boo1

(258 posts)
51. And that was
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:36 AM
2 hrs ago

20, 35, and 50 years ago


Not sure that any of those are very relevant.

Clinton dominated polling in 2014, BIden dominated in 2018.

If you're keeping score that'd both of the most recent contested primaries.

Frasier Balzov

(4,967 posts)
16. Conor Lamb is my nominee.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:51 PM
11 hrs ago

I'm not sure he's that ambitious.

But he's normal, and has a cool name.

Lawyer, Marine, Pennsylvanian, former Congressman.

Forty-one years old. Pleasant to handsome appearance.

Uncontroversial. Of little interest to anyone compiling opposition research.

Who? you say.

Exactly. Under the radar. He just needs the party to lift him on its shoulders and present him to the voters.

Now, proceed to explain to me how I don't understand politics.

senseandsensibility

(24,638 posts)
18. I think there is something to what you say
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:01 PM
11 hrs ago

In this environment where the media will be scouring only the Dem candidate for any whiff of scandal or even something they can ridicule while giving the R a free pass, that may be our only option. But even if we play it safe like that it's no guarantee. When the media wants to it can blow the most trivial thing into a major problem. Remember the Dean scream? That being said, I like Lamb.

pinkstarburst

(1,943 posts)
17. I think we are very early in the process
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 02:54 PM
11 hrs ago

and things can still change quite a bit between now and when we go to vote in the primaries. I don't personally see Harris as a viable candidate simply because the country has already weighed in on her and said no. I feel we cannot run candidates a second time and expect to get a different outcome. Trump was an outlier because he had actually won an election before. Harris hasn't.

I do feel Newsom may be one of the top candidates however, because at this point, the other possible contenders either are being dismissed by many voters for not being straight white Christian males, or if they are in that demographic, they don't have much of a national profile at this point. Things could still change. Candidates may develop more of a national profile. The results of the midterms may give voters more confidence to think outside of the box with regards to choosing a candidate. We will have to see.

I'm personally voting for Pete Buttigieg if he's running, and if Elizabeth Warren is in there, she's next on my list. I like Newsom, though, and I'm open to learning about some of the others that live in other parts of the country that I don't know much about yet, and might learn more about during the debates and primary.

flamingdem

(40,840 posts)
21. Gavin has the chops
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:18 PM
11 hrs ago

I'd like to see him chop up his opponent the likely J.D. Couch Vance!

Melon

(1,276 posts)
35. I doubt Kamala will run.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 08:34 PM
6 hrs ago

It would be a mistake in my opinion if she does and I couldn’t support. But I think others guiding the process will ask her not to run. She simply is not a strong enough candidate to bet our future on.

tritsofme

(19,862 posts)
36. Harris' numbers are mostly a function of name recognition at this point.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 08:45 PM
6 hrs ago

The problem for Harris is that Newsom has become the early frontrunner, and it’s not clear that even her informal entry to the race would change that

DenaliDemocrat

(1,746 posts)
38. Neither will win.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 09:00 PM
5 hrs ago

The country is not electing a politician from California. It is just not going to happen.

PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
43. Why don't you elaborate on what "out west" means...because there are a whole lot of Republican states "out west."
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 11:54 PM
2 hrs ago

And, while you're at it, feel free to elaborate on why precisely "everyone" is vilifying California?

DenaliDemocrat

(1,746 posts)
44. Okay
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:02 AM
2 hrs ago

Colorado, Alaska, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

I grew up on a working ranch. My dad ran a cow/calf operation. We had 500 mother cows.

California culture does not translate well in most of the west. They are seen as out of touch. I’m sorry this seems to piss you off, but thanks to the electoral college, a Dem candidate needs to over perform. We NEED Nevada and Arizona.

PeaceWave

(2,996 posts)
48. Alaska and Wyoming are ruby Republican states. Their disdain is to be expected. As for...
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:17 AM
2 hrs ago

Colorado, folks there have historically been resentful of wealthy Californians moving to that state and buying up real estate. Is that California's fault? No. Colorado will still vote Democratic, regardless of the Party's candidate for President. As for New Mexico, that is a state with barely 2 million people. If "everyone" in NM has chosen to vilify CA (not likely), we could still live with that. NM will also still vote Democratic, regardless of the Party's candidate for President.

Now, regarding the State of California itself, our great state has one of - if not the most Progressive income tax systems - in the entire U.S.

https://taxfoundation.org/blog/which-states-have-most-progressive-income-taxes-0/

Were the Federal income tax structure similar to that of California, the nation as a whole would be in much better financial shape. In California, you pay 0% sales tax on practically all groceries. In California, in most cases, you pay a flat 1% property tax that by statute cannot rise more than 2% per year. Live in one house long enough, like me, and you end up with a property tax somewhere between 1/2 of 1% and 1/3 of 1% of your property's market value. Compare that to what's going on in Texas.

Is the cost of living high here? Absolutely. But, that's only because so many folks want to live here. Clearly those folks don't "vilify" California. And, why do they choose to live here? Because folks here live and let live. We respect the myriad of cultures of our citizens. We view our diversity as our superpower. If someone's got a problem with California, chances are they've never spent much time here.

BannonsLiver

(20,375 posts)
46. Imagine believing after the last 12 years of this megalomaniac 1980s era political geography is relevant.
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:13 AM
2 hrs ago

I’m going to crank up some Police and Duran Duran. It’s 1984 again!

carpetbagger

(5,454 posts)
50. The two questions...
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:25 AM
2 hrs ago

1. Does the candidate have the ability to make the deep structural changes needed to rebuild the Republic?
2. Does the candidate have the inclination to make the deep structural changes needed to rebuild the Republic?

I'm going with the one who checks those two boxes. So far, I see one that clearly checks the first and one who clearly checks the second. I'll be listening in from the North and getting my absentee ballots.

Sogo

(7,112 posts)
52. Here's why that's good:
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:59 AM
1 hr ago

Newsom is a Governor of a large state with a huge economy. When he talks, he comes across as knowing what governance is and how government works, and he can articulate the facts and figures of a large economy. (California economy is like the fourth or fifth largest in the world.) He understands farm economies and urban economies, agriculture being one of the biggest industries in CA. Basically, the people of this country are on edge about how close to the economic cliff we have become with Trump driving the car and are looking to who can rescue us.

As far as no one voting for someone from CA, how'd that work out for Reagan?...

Doodley

(11,826 posts)
54. Which Democrat has stood up to Trump the most effectively and the most frequently? The answer is obvious.
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 01:33 AM
1 hr ago
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Newsom overtakes Kamala i...