How Gavin Newsom Is Shaping Democratic Politics At The Federal Level

     Gavin Newsom's recall is likely to fall on its face, but that won't stop another state-level GOP base from trying. The reason has nothing to do with any failing of Newsom's policies: he has kept or is in the process of keeping nearly every major campaign promise he made in the first two years of his term, California is a leader in vaccinating its population, and all COVID restrictions have now been dropped.

     Instead, it may be because California has been playing an especially large role in Democratic politics over the past four years. Kamala Harris served as the California State Attorney General from 2011 to 2017 before coming to the U.S. Senate, where her pointed questioning of Trump officials led to her launch of a prominent 2020 presidential campaign and her win in the 2020 election as the first female vice president. 

     Her replacement, Xavier Becerra, served under Governor Newsom, and he made taking on Big Pharma a priority. This made him an ideal pick for the first Latino Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Biden.

     Left with two vacancies, Newsom appointed Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate, the first Hispanic to serve the state in this body and already a renowned member of the progressive wing of Democrats. Padilla was the state's secretary of state, and Newsom filled this vacancy with the first black woman to hold the office, Shirley Weber. Should Dianne Feinstein retire from the Senate before her 2024 election, Newsom stated he is committed to appointing a woman of color, and Weber would be the likely name. To fill the vacancy left by Xavier Becerra, he appointed Rob Bonta, the first Filipino-American and second Asian-American (after Harris) to hold the office.

     It's not just his appointments. Newsom ended the use of private prisons, gave the middle class a huge tax break, established a moratorium on the death penalty, set California on track to be carbon neutral by 2045, provided Californians two years of free community college, and is currently working to advance affordable housing and education reform policies. He also supports the establishment of a single-payer healthcare system as California's cities and counties serve as pilots for a universal basic income program. To the GOP, Gavin Newsom has seen California make real progress, and, with his influence on national politics, this recall is what they see as the only way to stop him.