Gavin Newsom Gets Another Humiliating Failure

Somehow, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has become the front-runner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the 2028 election. Despite a prolific record of failure in the country's most populous state, Newsom has taken advantage of the lack of popular national figures on the left to surge to the front. 

Under his watch, the state turned into an authoritarian nightmare during COVID, with lockdowns, ineffective mask mandates, endless school closures, restrictions on free speech, and crackdowns on businesses. All of these absurd policies, just to have similar COVID outcomes than Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis opened his state quickly and refused to issue a statewide mask mandate. That was just the start of Newsom's problems. 

Fires destroyed two cities in Los Angeles. The state has consistently faced massive budget shortfalls. Cost of living has exploded. Building high speed rail has cost nearly $20 billion so far, with virtually nothing to show for it and no end in sight. Gas prices are nearly 50% higher than the national average, as a direct result of moronic policies and taxes from California Democrats. Homelessness in the state continues to lead the country, despite Newsom's 10-year plan to end it…23 years ago. That's just the start of issues he's created or exacerbated. 

And on Tuesday, once again, Newsom's failures were made more obvious, in humiliating fashion.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 14: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to union workers and volunteers on election day at the IBEW Local 6 union hall on September 14, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Californians are heading to the polls to cast their ballots in the California recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California's Population Loss Continues

Another one of Newsom's "accomplishments" was that for the first time in the history of the state of California, the state lost population. Despite exceptional weather, elite educational institutions, large industries, natural beauty, and the allure of the entertainment industry, the policies of Newsom and the Democratic supermajority pushed millions to flee the state. And hardly anybody moved back in. 

Well, the United States Census Bureau released their 2025 population estimates this week, and what do you know? California lost more residents. Again. One of just five states to see its population decline from 2024. Remarkable.

Even as the population of the United States has grown in the last five-plus years, California has shrunk. Remarkably, there are now roughly 200,000 fewer people in CA than there were in 2020. On the other hand, the other two largest states in the country, Texas and Florida, have seen explosive population growth. Texas gained nearly 2.6 million residents over the last five years, while Florida added nearly two million. 

Doesn't get much more damning than that. And it looks even worse when you combine the two red states and compare them to deep blue California. 

A feat so impressive, it could only be achieved by Gavin Newsom. 

This is the clearest indication we've seen that the state's decline has continued, post-COVID. Cost of living is among the worst of any state in the country. Real estate prices are absurd, and have created massive income inequality in what's supposed to be a "progressive" utopia. Quality of life is abysmal; the state has failing roads, virtually every major urban area has rapidly declined as far left mayors and city councils refuse to address systemic problems. San Francisco became an international laughingstock, as the left encouraged open drug use and reduced the city's police force to historic lows. LA isn't much better, if at all. San Diego, once a beacon of red in an ocean of blue, known as "America's Finest City," has also seen its downtown core turn into a gigantic open-air homeless encampment. Unchecked illegal immigration has also helped ruin city centers and increased crime. Oh, and Newsom just bragged about CA taxpayers providing free healthcare to illegal aliens too.

Instead of lowering energy costs and making life easier for its residents, Newsom and his party have forced expensive, inefficient "green" energy technology on homeowners, leading to some of the highest electricity costs in the country. Then they tried to ban gas cars in a handful of years, while EV demand disintegrates. At every turn, in every possible way, Newsom has made his state a worse place to live. And it turns out that people are willing to give up that natural beauty and idyllic weather in favor of cheaper housing, better quality of life, and a government that doesn't actively hate them.  

That's the frontrunner for the Democratic Party. Shows you how bad things have gotten.