The reason California Governor Gavin Newsom is the frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination is because he actually took effective action to confront Donald Trump’s mayhem. That alone defined him as a Democrat who is in fact capable of being what Democratic voters are desperate for, a leader who will “do something.”

When Donald Trump instructed Texas Governor Greg Abbott to move the Texas legislature to double down on partisan congressional voting maps, in what was already a badly gerrymandered state of Texas, California Governor Gavin Newsom did not stand pat.

Newsom moved quickly, more quickly than the Texas legislature. Newsom started with a warning, one on which he would ultimately make good. If you do this he told Trump and Abbot, California will act, we will redistrict our state in a way that will counter what Texas is planning. But Newsom took his plan a step farther. Newsom and California would not rely solely on the state’s legislature, they would also go directly to the voters.

It was a bold plan with a lot that could have gone wrong. Newsom visualized it, engineered it and saw it through. He won at the polls and in the courts, including most recently the Supreme Court. Not only did Newsom counter the Trump-Abbot effort in Texas but it appears to have stalled the entire plan to redistrict multiple states for political gain.

Perhaps most impressive was the non-decision by the Supreme Court, in the end declining to intervene in the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the validity of California Proposition 50 aptly named the Election Rigging Response Act. The Supreme Court order was delivered unsigned and without explanation. Which was, when you think about it all the Court had left. After having spent the past decade shooting down federal voting standards they had nowhere left to go.

California Democrats are pretty familiar with how Gavin Newsom governs. He has his good points, but there are also areas of concern. Newsom is a capable leader. He manages and responds to crises well. He doesn’t back down or shy away from challenges. But he also understands how to pick his fights. He is not however particularly eager to take on the interests of big businesses that provide essential services in the state. Not a particularly happy consumer warrior if you will. And that sometimes has a tendency to exacerbate the wealth gap between the haves and have-nots. It bears noting that former Congresswoman Katie Porter who is a staunch consumer advocate might turn up the heat on consumer protections a notch or two if elected to succeed Newsom.

On the crucial issue of electability, there are really two main ingredients. One is charisma. Charisma is not for the most part a learned skill. Either you have it or you don’t. JFK oozed charisma. Reagan was a terrible President based solely on his policies but he had plenty of charisma and that’s all he needed. Clinton had plenty of it as did Obama. Trump is if nothing else charismatic albeit is a dark sense. So much so that it compensates for his perpetually scandalous conduct. Biden was however charisma challenged and it limited his effectiveness.

The second crucial factor in presidential campaigning is dynamism, the vision the purpose of the candidate. The ability to set forth a vision for change or a bold agenda broadly popular with the voters. Note, this is not always positive thing. Some of the darkest political figures in history had bold visions for change and action.

Gavin Newsom is abundantly charismatic and a gifted communicator, the two often go hand in hand. That is important not only in campaigning but in governing. Someone has to communicate not only with the Democratic base, but with the independents that ultimately decide presidential elections at this stage. Beyond that it is essential to guide the voters back in the direction of policies that actually make sense for them. Newsom will likely be able to reach them.

Bottom line, right now the most important thing to Democratic voters is action. Newsom while not perfect has taken action. As a result he leads.

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